Resistance to dynamic deformation and fracture of tantalum with different grain and defect structures

This paper presents the results of measurements of the strength properties of technically pure tantalum under shock wave loading. It has been found that a decrease in the grain size under severe plastic deformation leads to an increase in the hardness of the material by approximately 25%, but the experimentally measured values of the dynamic yield stress for the fine-grained material prove to be less than those of the initial coarse-grained specimens. This effect has been explained by a higher rate of stress relaxation in the fine-grained material. The hardening of tantalum under shock wave loading at a pressure in the range 40–100 GPa leads to a further increase in the rate of stress relaxation, a decrease in the dynamic yield stress, and the disappearance of the difference between its values for the coarse-grained and fine-grained materials. The spall strength of tantalum increases by approximately 5% with a decrease in the grain size and remains unchanged after the shock wave loading. The maximum fracture stresses are observed in tantalum single crystals.