Atomistic mechanisms of shock-induced spallation in perfect single-crystal NiTi alloy under various stress states

Gao Shang; Zhang Hao; Pei Xiaoyang; Yin Qiuyun; Xiang Meizhen; Yang Xin; Peng Yixuan; Wang Fang

doi:10.1063/5.0300732

Volume 11 Issue 3

May 2026

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Gao Shang, Zhang Hao, Pei Xiaoyang, Yin Qiuyun, Xiang Meizhen, Yang Xin, Peng Yixuan, Wang Fang. Atomistic mechanisms of shock-induced spallation in perfect single-crystal NiTi alloy under various stress states[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037801. doi: 10.1063/5.0300732

Citation:

Gao Shang, Zhang Hao, Pei Xiaoyang, Yin Qiuyun, Xiang Meizhen, Yang Xin, Peng Yixuan, Wang Fang. Atomistic mechanisms of shock-induced spallation in perfect single-crystal NiTi alloy under various stress states[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037801. doi: 10.1063/5.0300732

Citation:

Gao Shang, Zhang Hao, Pei Xiaoyang, Yin Qiuyun, Xiang Meizhen, Yang Xin, Peng Yixuan, Wang Fang. Atomistic mechanisms of shock-induced spallation in perfect single-crystal NiTi alloy under various stress states[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037801. doi: 10.1063/5.0300732

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Atomistic mechanisms of shock-induced spallation in perfect single-crystal NiTi alloy under various stress states

doi: 10.1063/5.0300732

Gao Shang^1
,,
Zhang Hao^{2
,
,
,},
Pei Xiaoyang^2
,,
Yin Qiuyun^{3
,
,
,},
Xiang Meizhen^4
,,
Yang Xin^5
,,
Peng Yixuan¹,
Wang Fang^{1
,
,
,}

1.
School of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
2.
Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999, China
3.
Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
4.
Laboratory of Computational Physics, Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100088, China
5.
School of Environment and Resource, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China

More Information

Corresponding author: a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: housezh@163.com; yinqy@imech.ac.cn; and wangfang_cq1978@163.com
Received Date: 2025-09-03
Accepted Date: 2026-01-20

Available Online: 2026-05-01

Publish Date: 2026-05-28

Abstract

Abstract

This work focuses on exploring the mechanisms of spallation fracture in a nickel–titanium alloy cylinder, taking into account the evolution of the stress state. A converging shock wave is achieved through the rapid contraction of a potential wall, thereby enabling implosion loading. Along with a stress wave propagating within the material, we observe several spallation planes occurring in sequence, indicative of the emergence of multiple spallation. Interestingly, the sample at nucleation sites is found to remain in a biaxial tensile state in radial and azimuthal stresses for the first spallation, whereas it experiences distinctive behavior in the stress state, characterized by radial compressive stress and azimuthal tensile stress, preparing for the generation of secondary spallation. Moreover, the stress-induced phase transformation during the first spallation drives a heterogeneous distribution of atomic potential energy, beneficial to void nucleation. For the secondary spallation, there is another mechanism of phase transition, which is closely associated with shear deformation. Owing to severe lattice distortion, the resulting atomic misalignment provides nucleation sites for dislocations. The plastic flow induced by dislocation activity is responsible for triggering the development of shear localization. Accordingly, the generation of a deformation band covered with high shear strain leads to an increase in local temperature, and the softening effect contributes to a lower strength of the secondary spallation.

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Conflict of Interest
Author Contributions
Shang Gao: Conceptualization (equal); Methodology (equal); Software (equal); Visualization (equal); Writing – original draft (equal). Hao Zhang: Supervision (equal); Validation (equal). Xiaoyang Pei: Visualization (equal). Qiuyun Yin: Validation (equal). Meizhen Xiang: Data curation (equal). Xin Yang: Software (equal). Yixuan Peng: Software (equal). Fang Wang: Project administration (supporting); Supervision (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal).
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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References(66)

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