Strength of some grades of steel and armco iron under shock compression and rarefaction at pressures of 2 – 200 GPa

This paper reports results from a comparative experimental study of the dynamic strength of St. 20 and 09G2S steels (which are of interest as structural materials for the load-bearing casings of explosion-proof chambers) under shock compression and tension (spalling) at shock-front pressures of 1–5 GPa and strain rates of 10$^3$ – 10$^4$ sec$^{-1}$. A comparative analysis is performed of the obtained and available data on the dynamic yield point and spall strength of St. 3, St. 20, 09G2S, 12Kh18N10T, ÉI712, 30KhGSA, 36NKhTYu, KhVG, and 35Kh3NM steels and armco iron, whose strengths and ductilities under static loading conditions differ by a factor of up to five. Experiments are described in which spheres of St. 3, St. 20, 12Kh18N10T, and 30KhGSA steels with markedly different strengths and ductilities are loaded by a convergent quasispherical shock wave with a pressure at the center of 200 GPa and a strain rate of 10$^5$sec$^{-1}$.