Impact response of the shorted quartz gauge to 40 kbar

The response of shorted quartz gauges, 1.27 cm in diameter and 0.32-cm thick, to impact loading has been examined. Of particular interest was the increase in current with time, commonly referred to as current ramping. Data on the initial current jump from the present work and from earlier studies have been fitted using a piezoelectric current coefficient, k=(1.92+8.25×10−3σ) ×10−8 C/cm2/kbar. This fit, good to within ±2%, is valid to 40 kbar. The current ramping coefficient α was found to be linear with stress and was fitted over the same stress range as α=0.195+8.24×10−3σ, where σ is in kbar and α is in μs−1. Procedures to use the current and ramping calibration are described.