Sound velocity variations and melting of vanadium under shock compression

The sound velocities of vanadium at shock pressure ranging from 154 to 250 GPa were determined using transparent-window optical analyser techniques. A discontinuity in sound velocities at about 225 GPa may mark the partial melting under shock compression. The comparison between the measured sound velocity data sets above ~225 GPa and calculated values yields γ 0 ≈2.0 and the empirical expression γρ = γ 0 ρ 0 is basically tenable. Additionally, shock temperatures along the principal Hugoniot of vanadium were also determined from interfacial radiation intensities according to Grover's ideal interface model. Thus the temperature at this solid-liquid phase transition was constrained to be round about 7800(±800) K on the basis of the measured Hugoniot temperatures, melting temperatures, and high-pressure sound velocity variations with pressure.