Publications Details

Phase transitions in high-purity zirconium under dynamic compression

Greeff, C.W.; Brown, Justin L.; Velisavljevic, N.; Rigg, P.A.

We present results from ramp compression experiments on high-purity Zr that show the α→ω, ω→β, as well as reverse β→ω phase transitions. Simulations with a multiphase equation of state and phenomenological kinetic model match the experimental wave profiles well. While the dynamic α→ω transition occurs ∼9GPa above the equilibrium phase boundary, the ω→β transition occurs within 0.9 GPa of equilibrium. We estimate that the dynamic compression path intersects the equilibrium ω-β line at P=29.2GPa, and T=490K. The thermodynamic path in the interior of the sample lies ∼100K above the isentrope at the point of the ω→β transition. Approximately half of this dissipative temperature rise is due to plastic work, and half is due to the nonequilibrium α→ω transition. The inferred rate of the α→ω transition is several orders of magnitude higher than that measured in dynamic diamond anvil cell (DDAC) experiments in an overlapping pressure range. We discuss a model for the influence of shear stress on the nucleation rate. We find that the shear stress sji has the same effect on the nucleation rate as a pressure increase δP=cϵijsji/(ΔV/V), where c is a geometric constant ∼1 and ϵij are the transformation shear strains. The small fractional volume change ΔV/V≈0.1 at the α→ω transition amplifies the effect of shear stress, and we estimate that for this case δP is in the range of several GPa. Correcting our transition rate to a hydrostatic rate brings it approximately into line with the DDAC results, suggesting that shear stress plays a significant role in the transformation rate.