Measurement of Body-Centered-Cubic Aluminum at 475 GPa

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Oct 27;119(17):175702. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.175702. Epub 2017 Oct 27.

Abstract

Nanosecond in situ x-ray diffraction and simultaneous velocimetry measurements were used to determine the crystal structure and pressure, respectively, of ramp-compressed aluminum at stress states between 111 and 475 GPa. The solid-solid Al phase transformations, fcc-hcp and hcp-bcc, are observed at 216±9 and 321±12 GPa, respectively, with the bcc phase persisting to 475 GPa. The high-pressure crystallographic texture of the hcp and bcc phases suggests close-packed or nearly close-packed lattice planes remain parallel through both transformations.