Device for investigation X-ray diffraction on shock-compressed material

A pulsed x-ray diffractometer with a $50$-nsec exposure for investigating the structure of specimens in a shocked-compressed state is described. The shock wave is excited in the investigated specimen by a striker accelerated by a solid-propellant gun to velocities of the order of $1$ km/sec. The preliminary results of the structural investigations of polycrystalline aluminum in the pressure range $2$–$4$ GPa are discussed. An anomalous shift of the diffraction peaks was recorded, which is explained by the formation of the stacking faults of the crystal lattice in high strain-rate processes.