Effect of spherically converging shock waves on the phase and structural states of the artificially aged Al-4 wt % Cu alloy

Optical metallography, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and microhardness measurements have been used to layer-by-layer study the structure of an artificially aged Al-4 wt % Cu alloy subjected to loading by spherically converging shock waves. It has been established that the high-strain-rate plastic deformation of this alloy, when using this mode of loading, occurs via intragrain dislocation slip and, in the middle and deep layers, also via the formation of localized-deformation bands at grain boundaries. The intragrain slip occurs inhomogeneously, by the formation of shear bands. The temperature distribution in various layers of the sample has been estimated.