Effect of shock waves on thermophysical properties of ADP and KDP crystals

Ammonium Dihydrogen Phosphate (ADP) and Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP) crystals are grown by slow evaporation method at ambient temperature. The said crystals are utilized as a test specimen and subjected to one-dimensional 'loading of shock waves' generated by rupturing a paper diaphragm with Mach number of 1.9 using supersonic low energy table-top shock tube. Thermal diffusivity of crystal is measured using Photoacoustic spectrometer (PAS) for the normal and shock loaded crystals, thermal conductivity and thermal effusivity are computed for the given volumetric specific heat capacity of the crystals. XRD characterization studies reveals that KDP crystal has better immunity to shock wave than ADP crystal.