On the shear strength of shock loaded brittle solids

We propose a new approach to analyze the response of brittle materials to shock loading. Our analysis is based on assuming that these materials obey Griffith’s criterion for failure under pressure. This criterion leads to an explicit relationship between the shear strength of the shocked solid and the pressure behind the shock front. The agreement between this relation and direct measurements of shear strength, on shock loaded titanium-diboride, is very good. Moreover, several discrepancies between different sets of data, concerning shock loaded alumina, are removed by applying the new interpretation for the response of brittle solids to shock waves.