Nanofragmentation controlled by a shock-induced phase transition in mullite related ceramics and its application

Mullite (3Al₂O₃•2SiO₂) undergoes a phase transition at 30 GPa with forming aligned nanocrystalline fragments in an amorphous phase. The direction of the crystal axes of mullite nano-crystals with the grain sizes less than 10 nm is that preserved from the starting specimen. To clarify the mechanism of the nanofragmentation in mullite, compositional and structural effects are investigated by comparative studies using several mullite-related aluminosilicates. Consequently, we proposed that the oxygen vacancies in the crystal structure in mullite play an important role to formation of the nanofragmentation textures. Also, we performed impact experiments using mullite as a bumper material, simulating a Whipple bumper shield for spacecrafts. Damage of impact could be considerably less with mullite bumper shield than with aluminum alloy bumper shield, suggesting that mullite could be an candidate for a Whipple bumper materials in the next generation.