Mechanical properties of uranium under dynamic uniaxial compression and stretching at temperatures from 20 to 600 degrees C

Correct prediction of the behaviour of a construction unit or an assemble a s a whole is impossible without rigorous mathematical models for mechanical properties of materials. Mechanical properties of actual bodies experienci ng mechanical strain are quite intricate. Evidently, the extent to which a model accounts for behaviour of materials under dynamic loads depends on th e authenticity of experimental data underlying the model. Measurements were carried out by the Hopkinson method of compound rods best suited for this purpose. The results presented in this communication were gained by an anal ysis of the dynamic diagrams of uniaxial compression and stretching of U-23 8 and its alloy with Mo (1.3 wt %). The yield strengths presented in this s tudy were assessed from the diagrams at different strain rates of (less tha n or equal to 1800 1/s) and initial temperatures (T less than or equal to 6 00 degrees C). The data obtained served as a basis for a semi-empirical mod el at the heart of which was an equation of state of U-238 and its alloy wi th Mo.