Investigating Ta strength across multiple platforms, strain rates, and pressures

Ta is a metal with high density and strength. We are collaborating to understand the behavior across an unprecedented range of conditions comparing strength data from Hopkinson bar, Taylor cylinder, guns, Z, Omega and the NIF using Ta from a single lot up to 380 GPa and strain rates of $10^7$. Experiments are ongoing to give more overlap between the platforms and are being simulated with models to determine the importance of specific physical processes. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.