Various intermetallic compounds were deformed by explosive-impact testing, using a Cu projectile with a velocity of between 0.6 and 1.6km/s. The corresponding strain rate was between 30000 and 80000/s. Some of the intermetallic compounds which were deformed

in such tests exhibited deformation structures that were significantly different to those found after quasi-static loading. In the case of a 2-phase TiAl alloy, a twin-like band structure whose interfaces could be indexed as being of {577} type was found to form during impact loading. Twinning was the preferred deformation mode in this 2-phase alloy under both impact and quasi-static loading conditions. Under the deformation conditions which were imposed by impact loading in a powder gun recovery system, deformation twinning could not be induced in compounds where twinning was not a natural deformation mode.

M.Ikebuchi, H.Inui, Y.Shirai, M.Yamaguchi, S.Fujita, T.Nishisako: Materials Science and Engineering A, 1995, 192-193, 289-300