Adiabatic shear band formation in explosively driven Fe–Ni–Co alloy cylinders

AerMet-100 alloy cylinders were explosively driven to fragmentation. Soft-captured fragments were studied to characterize the deformation induced by high explosive loading. The characterization of the fragments reveals that the dominant failure mechanism appears to be dynamic fracture along adiabatic shear bands. These shear bands differ in size and morphology depending on the heat-treated conditions. Nanoindentation measurements of the adiabatic shear bands in either material condition indicate higher hardness in the bands compared to the matrix regions of the fragments.