Spall response of U-Nb (6%) alloy

Experiments were done to measure the spall strength of U-NB (6%) alloy. Gas gun experiments were done to three different peak stress states, representing no spall, incipient spall, and complete spall. An experimental technique was developed to allow measurements of time-resolved particle velocity at the sample free surface, and soft recovery for post-experiment metallographical analysis. Elementary analyses were done on the time-resolved data to yield approximate spall strength. Preliminary results are described.