Copper spall fracture under sub-nanosecond electron irradiation

Ultra-short powerful electron beam is a suitable tool for producing of high rate deformation in substance. In paper we present a new model of high rate fracture and use this model for numerical investigation of fracture of copper target at irradiation by sub-nanosecond electron beam. In this model, fracture is considered as a time-dependent process of nucleation and growth of opening mode cracks. The nucleation and growth rates are controlled by specific free energy of crack surface which is sole fitted parameter. Plastic deformations, both in cracks vicinity and total in substance, are described in frames of dislocation theory. For verification of the model, we performed simulations of spall fracture at plate impact and at irradiation by high-current electron beam with pulse duration of tens of nanoseconds, and reasonable agreement with experimental data has been demonstrated. Simulations of the sub-nanosecond electron beam action on target indicate that spall fracture of the irradiated target surface is possible. This fracture takes place at the enclosed energy density slightly below the value, which is sufficient for melting of irradiated substance. Fracture threshold energy density does not depend on the origin dislocation density and it increases with the increase of pulse duration. As a result, at long pulse durations (more than ten nanoseconds) the substance melts before fracture.