USING THE THERMOELECTRIC EFFECT TO MEASURE SHOCK VELOCITIES IN METALS

Accurate determination of shock velocity is a key to the measurements of the Hugoniot curve. When a strong shock passes through a bi-metal junction it heats the junction and generates a thermoelectric voltage, which can be used as a timing signal for shock arrival. The thermoelectric measurement has the advantage that it does not require free surface or insulating layers between the metals. It also has an important advantage that the signal shape is indicative for the planarity of the shock. Through various experimental configurations, using high velocity impactors and high-explosives shocks, we explored the necessary conditions to obtain clean and reliable thermoelectric signals.