Experimental and Diagnostic Techniques

Abstract

Investigations in the field of shock compression of solid materials were originally performed for military purposes. Specimens such as armor were subjected to either projectile impact or explosive detonation, and the severity and character of the resulting damage constituted the experimental data (see, e.g., Helie, 1840). Investigations of this type continue today, and although they certainly have their place, they are now considered more as engineering experiments than scientific research, inasmuch as they do little to illuminate the basic physics and material properties which determine the results of shock-compression events.