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Updated: May 19, 2026

Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System
Published on: August 7, 2018
Plasma-accelerated flyer-plates for equation of state studies
D E Fratanduono1, R F Smith, T R Boehly
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
Abstract:
We report on a new technique to accelerate flyer-plates to high velocities (∼5 km/s). In this work, a strong shock is created through direct laser ablation of a thin polyimide foil. Subsequent shock breakout of that foil results in the generation of a plasma characterized by a smoothly increasing density gradient and a strong forward momentum. Stagnation of this plasma onto an aluminum foil and the resultant momentum transfer accelerates a thin aluminum flyer-plate. The aluminum flyer-plate is then accelerated to a peak velocity of ∼5 km/s before impact with a transparent lithium fluoride (LiF) window. Simulations of the stagnating plasma ramp compression and wave reverberations within the flyer-plate suggest that the temperature at the flyer-plate impact surface is elevated by less than 50 °C. Optical velocimetry is used to measure the flyer-plate velocity and impact conditions enabling the shocked refractive index of LiF to be determined. The results presented here are in agreement with conventional flyer-plate measurements validating the use of plasma-accelerated flyer-plates for equation of state and impact studies.
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