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Science 7 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5612, pp. 1563 - 1566
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080819
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Reports

Shock-Induced Localized Amorphization in Boron Carbide

Mingwei Chen,1 James W. McCauley,2 Kevin J. Hemker1*

High-resolution electron microscope observations of shock-loaded boron carbide have revealed the formation of nanoscale intragranular amorphous bands that occur parallel to specific crystallographic planes and contiguously with apparent cleaved fracture surfaces. This damage mechanism explains the measured, but not previously understood, decrease in the ballistic performance of boron carbide at high impact rates and pressures. The formation of these amorphous bands is also an example of how shock loading can result in the synthesis of novel structures and materials with substantially altered properties.

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
2 U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD 21005, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hemker{at}jhu.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Ultrahigh Strength in Nanocrystalline Materials Under Shock Loading.
E. M. Bringa, A. Caro, Y. Wang, M. Victoria, J. M. McNaney, B. A. Remington, R. F. Smith, B. R. Torralva, and H. Van Swygenhoven (2005)
Science 309, 1838-1841
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