Ductile-brittle transition behavior of tungsten under shock loading

The ductile-brittle transition behavior of warm-forged tungsten under shock loading conditions was examined by performing shock/soft-recovery experiments at 22° C and 400° C. The results of a recovery experiment at 22° C indicate that shock (19 GPa)-induced strains were accommodated by fracture processes, i.e. there were no indications of shock-induced plastic deformation, and the test sample was reduced to rubble. At 400° C the test sample was recovered intact and the shock-induced plasticity caused deformation banding and an increase in the dislocation density of the material. The results of these experiments demonstrate the principle of a ductile-brittle transition behavior of tungsten under uniaxial shock loading conditions and indicate that explosively-driven deformation of the material studied will likely result in pulverization due to shock loading.