Experimental investigation on delayed failure of alumina under shock compression

A series of plate impact experiments have been conducted on alumina specimens with different thicknesses through the light gas gun in order to further investigate the delayed failure phenomenon under shock loading. With the aid of the velocity interferometer system for any reflector, an evident recompression signal has been observed in the temporal curve of the rear free surface velocity of the specimen, which indicates the generation of the failure wave. According to the experimental results, the failure wave propagation was probed. The results show that the failure wave generates a delayed time of similar to 0.105 mu s behind the shock wave front and propagates into the stressed body with a velocity of similar to 5051 m s(-1) under the impact stress of 7.16 GPa. The physical mechanism of the failure wave was further discussed.