Phase change in 080A42 plain carbon steel

Under shock loading conditions, mild steel undergoes a solid-solid phase transition at approximately 13GPa. In this work 080A42 plain carbon steel bright round rolled bar, was machined and heat-treated to produce an annealed or a martensitic structure. These samples were shock loaded, by plate impact, and the material response recorded using \textit{in-situ} manganin stress gauges and heterodyne velocimetry. The Hugoniot stress and material characteristics both above and below the phase transition pressure have been recorded.