Historically, a major problem for the study of the large deformation of crystalline solids has been the apparent lack of unity in experimentally determined stress-strain functions. The writer's discovery in 1949 of the unexpectedly high velocity of incremental loading waves in pre-stressed large deformation fields emphasized to him the pressing need for the independent, systematic experimental study of the subject, to provide a firm foundation upon which physically plausible theories for the finite deformation of crystalline solids could be constructed. Such a study undertaken by the writer at that time and continued uninterruptedly to the present, led in 1956 to the development of the diffraction grating experiment which permitted, for the first time, the optically accurate determination of the strain-time detail of non-linear finite amplitude wave fronts propagating into crystalline solids whose prior history was precisely known. These experimental diffraction grating studies during the past decade have led to the discovery that the uniaxial stress-strain functions of 27 crystalline solids are unified in a single, generalized stress-strain function which is described, much of it hitherto unpublished, in the present monograph. The detailed study of over 2,000 polycrystal and single crystal uni axial stress experiments in 27 crystalline solids, in terms of the variation of a large number of pertinent parameters, has provided new unified pat terns of understanding which, it is hoped, will be of interest and value to theorists and experimentalists alike.

This book describes thermoelastic and inelastic deformation processes in crystalline solids undergoing loading by shock compression. Constitutive models with a basis in geometrically nonlinear continuum mechanics supply these descriptions. Large deformations such as finite strains and rotations, are addressed. The book covers dominant mechanisms of nonlinear thermoelasticity, dislocation plasticity, deformation twinning, fracture, flow, and other structure changes. Rigorous derivations of theoretical results are provided, with approximately 1300 numbered equations and an extensive bibliography of over 500 historical and modern references spanning from the 1920s to the present day. Case studies contain property data, as well as analytical, and numerical solutions to shock compression problems for different materials. Such materials are metals, ceramics, and minerals, single crystalline and polycrystalline. The intended audience of this book is practicing scientists (physicists, engineers, materials scientists, and applied mathematicians) involved in advanced research on shock compression of solid materials.

This book reviews and interrelates a large number of theoretical and experimental contributions to the research on finite plastic deformation of single crystals and polycrystalline metals made during the past quarter century. An overall theoretical framework for investigation of large strains in crystalline materials is presented that enables the blending of contemporary and earlier experimental research with modern concepts in solid mechanics. Professor Havner has provided a historical perspective throughout including accurate attribution of ideas and emphasis on pioneering studies, beginning with G. I. Taylor and the German researchers in the 1920s. Early chapters deal with single crystals, including extensive analyses of particular experimental configurations. Then connections between single crystals and polycrystalline material behavior are considered. Necessary background to the most general theoretical sections is presented in an appendix and approximately 200 references to the primary scientific literature are included.

Present developments in materials science, mechanics and engineering, as well as the demands of modern technology, result in a new and growing interest in plasticity and in bordering domains of the mechanical behavior of materials. This growing interest is attested to by the success of both The International Journal of Plasticity, which after its inception rapidly became the leading journal for plasticity research, and the series ofInternational Symposia on Plasticity and Its Current Applications, which is now the premier international forum for plasticity research dissemination. The First International Symposium on Plasticity and Its Current Applications was conceived and organized by Professor Akhtar S. Khan, and was held at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma, USA) from July 30 to August 3, 1984. It was attended by over one hundred scientists from fifteen countries. "Plasticity '89: the Second International Symposium on Plasticity and Its Current Applications" was held at Mie University (Tsu, Japan) from July 31 to August 4, 1989; this symposium was co-chaired by Professors Khan and Tokuda. The main emphasis of this meeting was on dynamic plasticity and micromechanics, although it included other aspects of plasticity as well. It was attended by over two hundred researchers from twenty-three nations.