High Velocity Impact

Shock-wave propagation through multi-material media is relevant to physical problems such as detonations, impact welding, and ejecta formation. Solids undergoing severe, rapid deformation can flow like fluids and produce fluid-like interfacial instabilities. In this regime, inelastic phenomena, such as strain hardening and thermal softening, also become important, and incorporating these phenomena is essential for accurate simulations. Recent work in our group in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has focused on developing high-order finite difference methods for simulating elastic-plastic impact problems with arbitrary equation of state and plasticity models.