Engineering topics
Root, Seth
Publications and source records attributed to Root, Seth.
First Results of Dynamic X-Ray Diffraction and Shock Compression on CaF2 and Comparison with Static Compression.
Abstract not provided.
Requirements for Simulating the Transmitted Wave Profile Through Metal Barriers.
Abstract not provided.
Correlation Between Hot Spots and 3-D Defect Structure in Single and Polycrystalline High-Explosive Materials, NLV-035-16, Year 1 of 3
Presentation describes new approach to determine and map defects present in common HE materials to later correlate to hot spots seen during shock using X-ray tomography for meso-scale defects, Lang topography for fully 3-D quantitative assessment, and pre-shock diagnostic tool for pre-shock.
Novel Pre-Shock Diagnostic Tools for Defects in Heterogeneous Materials
Exhibit describes project to develop two complementary nondestructive characterization techniques that cover the meso-scale and the micro-scale in order to understand the stress and temperature evolution upon shock loading.
Quasi-Isentropic Compression of Free-Machining (C36000) Brass.
Abstract not provided.
Novel pre-shock diagnostic tools for defects in heterogeneous materials
Exhibit describes development of diagnostics to non-destructively determine defects in crystal structures, voids, and impurities in polycrystalline and compound samples.
Shock compression response of poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) plastic to 985 GPa
Poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) plastic (PMP) is a hydrocarbon polymer with potential applications to inertial confinement fusion experiments and as a Hugoniot impedance matching standard for equation of state experiments. Using Sandia's Z-machine, we performed a series of flyer plate experiments to measure the principal Hugoniot and reshock states of PMP up to 985 GPa. The principal Hugoniot measurements validate density functional theory (DFT) calculations along the Hugoniot. The DFT calculations are further analyzed using a bond tracking method to understand the dissociation pathway under shock compression. Complete dissociation occurs at a compression factor similar to other sp3-hybridized, C-C bonded systems, which suggests a limiting compression for C-C bonds. The combined experimental and DFT results provide a solid basis for constructing an equation of state model for PMP.
Shock response and phase transitions of MgO at planetary impact conditions
The moon-forming impact and the subsequent evolution of the proto-Earth is strongly dependent on the properties of materials at the extreme conditions generated by this violent collision. We examine the high pressure behavior of MgO, one of the dominant constituents in Earth’s mantle, using high-precision, plate impact shock compression experiments performed on Sandia National Laboratories’ Z Machine and extensive quantum calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. The combined data span from ambient conditions to 1.2 TPa and 42,000 K, showing solid-solid and solid-liquid phase boundaries. Furthermore our results indicate that under impact the solid and liquid phases coexist for more than 100 GPa, pushing complete melting to pressures in excess of 600 GPa. Furthermore, the high pressure required for complete shock melting has implications for a broad range of planetary collision events.
Optical and transport properties of dense liquid silica
Using density-functional-theory based molecular dynamics and the Kubo-Greenwood linear response theory, we evaluated the high-pressure equation of state and the optical and transport properties of quartz and fused silica shock-compressed to 2000 GPa. The computed Hugoniots and corresponding optical reflectivity values are in very good agreement with published data for quartz, and new data that we obtained on fused silica using magnetically launched flyer plate experiments. The rise of optical reflectivity upon shock compression appears to be primarily a temperature-driven mechanism, which is relatively insensitive to small density variation. We observed that the electrical conductivity does not display Drude-like frequency dependence, especially at lower temperatures. In addition, the Wiedemann-Franz relation between electrical and thermal conductivities was found to be invalid. It suggests that even at three-fold compression, warm dense liquid silica on the Hugoniot curve is still far away from the degenerate limit.
Shock Compression Response of the Light Noble Gases: Neon and Helium.
Abstract not provided.
Ethane-xenon mixtures under shock conditions
Mixtures of light elements with heavy elements are important in inertial confinement fusion. We explore the physics of molecular scale mixing through a validation study of equation of state (EOS) properties. Density functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) at elevated temperature and pressure is used to obtain the thermodynamic state properties of pure xenon, ethane, and various compressed mixture compositions along their principal Hugoniots. In order to validate these simulations, we have performed shock compression experiments using the Sandia Z-Machine. A bond tracking analysis correlates the sharp rise in the Hugoniot curve with the completion of dissociation in ethane. Furthermore, the DFT-based simulation results compare well with the experimental data along the principal Hugoniots and are used to provide insight into the dissociation and temperature along the Hugoniots as a function of mixture composition. Interestingly, we find that the compression ratio for complete dissociation is similar for several compositions suggesting a limiting compression for C-C bonded systems.
Impact vaporization of planetesimal cores in the late stages of planet formation
We report differentiated planetesimals delivered iron-rich material to the Earth and Moon in high-velocity collisions at the end stages of accretion. The physical process of accreting this late material has implications for the geochemical evolution of the Earth–Moon system and the timing of Earth’s core formation. However, the fraction of a planetesimal’s iron core that is vaporized by an impact is not well constrained as a result of iron’s poorly understood equation of state. Here we determine the entropy in the shock state of iron using a recently developed shock-and-release experimental technique implemented at the Sandia National Laboratory Z-Machine. We find that the shock pressure required to vaporize iron is 507 (+65, -85) GPa, which is lower than the previous theoretical estimate (887 GPa) and readily achieved by the high velocity impacts at the end stages of accretion. We suggest that impact vaporization of planetesimal cores dispersed iron over the surface of the growing Earth and enhanced chemical equilibration with the mantle. In addition, the comparatively low abundance of highly siderophile elements in the lunar mantle and crust can be explained by the retention of a smaller fraction of vaporized planetesimal iron on the Moon, as compared with Earth, due to the Moon’s lower escape velocity.