PhD Title - Exploration of material strength at high pressure

Supervisors: Dr. Simon Bland, Dr Daniel Eakins

Email: john.winters08@imperial.ac.uk

Research into the strength characteristics of amorphous metals, at high pressures and strain rates. Particularly looking into the re-crystalisation/phase change from amorphous to partially crystaline states and the governing strength mechanisms.

 Current & Future Projects include:

• Experimenter at the Dimaond Light Source 3rd Gen Light source - X-ray phase contrast imaging of plate-imact experiments. (Sep 2013)
• Research into stregnth and re-crystalisation prpoerties of BMGs and amporhous metals under laser shock loading.
• Assisting in commisioning of the new macro-pulse laser & target chamber.
• Undergraduate laboratory demonstrator. (2013/14 Academic year)
• Building a 'Cross-hair' line-imaging VISAR velicometer for use on stripline experiments.
• Stripline target optimosation for MACH generator unifrom pressure wave experiments.

Previous projects include:

• Development of the MACH facility in the 'Physics in Extreme Conditions' Lab.
• Experimenter at the Janus Laser at the Jupiter Laser facility (Line VISAR & X-ray Diffraction measurments on the temperature and composition dependance on strength of Iron-Nickel Alloys).
• Novel gas-gun experiment plate impact experiment to determine shock wave velocity suitable for large bore light gas-guns.
• Building a combined Transverse & Normal Displacement Interferometer TDI/NDI.
• Use of X-rays as a diagnostic tool in 'Shock Physics' (Literature Review).

Talks and Presentations:

• "X-VISAR: Simultaneous perpendicular line-imaging VISAR." - Talk at Spatial Velocimetry Workshop, Institute of Physics, Sep 2013.
• "X-VISAR: Orthogonal Velocimetry" - Poster at APS-SCCM Seattle, July 2013.