Application of a nanosecond laser pulse to evaluate dynamic hardness under ultra-high strain rate

The paper presents results of experimental tests of plastic metals deformation generated by a shock wave induced by laser pulse. Tests were carried out on the Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and the laser pulse of 10 ns duration. The shock wave generate by the laser pulse was used to induced local plastic deformation of the material surface. The study examined the possibility of application the process to develop a new method of measuring the dynamic hardness of materials under ultra-high strain rate. It has been shown that the shock wave induced by the laser pulse with an energy of 0.35-1.22 J causes a repeatable plastic deformation of surface of commercially available metals and alloys without thermal effects on the surfaces. Based on the knowledge of an imprint geometry, it is possible to evaluate the dynamic hardness of materials at strain rate in the range of 107 s−1.