The 8th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2025)

Impact phenomena are ubiquitous throughout the universe; however, understanding its mechanisms and consequences requires substantial effort. Accurately characterizing and predicting the behavior of materials under impact conditions remains a significant challenge in condensed matter physics and mechanics. This challenge is further exacerbated by the coupling of multiphysics processes, such as fracture and phase transitions, for which most uncontrollable and unpredictable mechanical failures are, to varying degrees, associated with. Consequently, establishing predictive capabilities for materials under shock loading is of critical importance. In this presentation, I will use metallic tin as a case study to demonstrate our progress toward this goal. Tin, a widely studied metal in shock physics, exhibits a well-documented beta-gamma phase transition under compression. Despite extensive research, a comprehensive understanding of its dynamical properties under extreme conditions remains elusive. Although tin is not a strongly correlated material, it poses significant challenges for accurate theoretical descriptions using first-principles methods such as density functional theory (DFT). This limitation has necessitated a shift in research focus toward an experimental data-driven approach. By integrating diverse experimental datasets—including static compression, ramp compression, and shock compression—with advanced material models, we demonstrate the feasibility of achieving a quantitative description of the dynamical response of shocked tin under extreme loading conditions characterized by multiphysics coupling of large deformations, phase transitions, and fracture processes, at least in 1D situation. Our results indicate that practical predictive capabilities might be realized through further integration of fundamental physics. This approach not only advances the understanding of tin under extreme conditions but also provides a framework applicable to other materials in similar regimes.

Material dynamics,Shock compression,Multiphysics coupling,Modelling and simulation,Phase transition