Shock equation of state and dynamic strength of tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide ceramic is a high-density material with attractive compressive and tensile strength properties. Cercom, Inc. manufactured hot-pressed tungsten carbide ceramic was tested in the present study. The density of this ceramic varies between 15.53 and 15.56 Mg/m3. The values of longitudinal and shear wave velocities measured ultrasonically vary between 7.04 and 7.05 km/s, and 4.30 and 4.32 km/s, respectively. Shock wave experiments were conducted at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) to determine its shock-induced compressive behavior. The results of these experiments are summarized as: (1) the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) of this material is 6.6 ± 0.5 GPa (2) this value of the HEL may not adequately represent the dynamic yield strength of the material because of the substantial post-yield hardening characteristics of this material shown by the pronounced slope of the precursor wave preceding the following final-state shock wave, and (3) the final shock state attained in the material indicates that the shear strength is maintained when shocked above the HEL to 80 GPa