Mechanical properties of several Fe-Ni meteorites
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- LLNL
The strength and elastic constants of meteorites are of increasing interest as predictions of meteorite impacts on earth come within the realm of possibility. In addition, meteorite impacts on extraterrestrial bodies provide an excellent sampling tool for evaluation of planetary compositions and properties. Fe-Ni meteorites provide a well-defined group of materials of fairly uniform composition. Iron-nickel meteorites exhibit a unique lamellar microstructure, a Widmanstatten structure, consisting of small regions with steep-iron-nickel composition gradients. This microstructure is found in the Fe-Ni system only in meteorites, and is believed to arise as a result of slow cooling in a planetary core or other large mass. Meteorites with compositions consisting of between 5 and 17% nickel in iron are termed 'octahedrite,' and further characterized according to the width of the Ni-poor kamacite bands; 'fine,' (0.2-0.5 mm) 'medium,' (0.5-1.3 mm) and 'coarse,' (1.5-3.3 mm). Many meteorites have inclusions and structures indicating that the material has been shocked at some point early in its evolution. Several Iron-nickel meteorites have been examined using Vickers and spherical indentation, x-ray fluorescence, and EBSD. Direct observation of mechanical properties in these highly structured materials provides a valuable supplement to bulk measurements, which frequently exhibit large variation in dynamic properties, even within a single sample. Previous studies of the mechanical properties of a typical iron-nickel meteorite, a Diablo Canyon specimen, indicated that the strength of the composite was higher by almost an order of magnitude than values obtained from laboratory-prepared specimens. Additional meteorite specimens have been examined to establish a range of error on the previously measured yield, to determine the extent to which deformation upon re-entry contributes to yield, and to establish the degree to which the strength varies as a function of microstructure.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1038894
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-07276; LA-UR-10-7276; TRN: US201209%%46
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International Symposium on Plasticity ; January 2, 2011 ; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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