On the shock response of the magnesium alloy elektron 675

Abstract

Alloying elements such as aluminum, zinc or rare-earths allow precipitation hardening of magnesium (Mg). The low densities of such strengthened Mg alloys have led to their adoption as aerospace materials and (more recently) they are being considered as armor materials. Consequently, understanding their response to high strain-rate loading is becoming increasingly important. Here, the plate-impact technique was employed to measure longitudinal stress evolution in armor-grade wrought Mg-alloy Elektron 675 under 1D shock loading. The spall behavior was interrogated using a Heterodyne velocimeter (Het-v) system, with an estimate made of the material's Hugoniot elastic limit for both aged and un-aged materials. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.