Computer Simulation of Aluminum in the High-Pressure Range

A technique is developed for constructing crystalline aluminum models with the potential of the embedded atom model (EAM) obtained earlier in [1] and corrected for describing strongly compressed states. This technique was applied for aluminum in the range of high pressures created by strong shock waves. Using the method of molecular dynamics (MD) and EAM potential, it is possible to achieve good agreement with experiment as far as the structure, density, and energy of the metal along the shock adiabat up to a pressure of $\sim$$260$~GPa and temperature of $\sim
$$11 500$~K are concerned. Several models have been constructed in the high-pressure range at absolute zero temperature, and the adequacy of the Gr{\= u}neisen model has been evaluated. Models for liquid aluminum have been constructed at temperatures up to $800$~K, and the parameters of the critical point ($\sim$$
7050$~K, density of $0.675$ $\pm$ $0.034$~g/cm$^3$, pressure of $0.325$ $\pm$ $0.02$~GPa, $Z = pV/RT = 0.22 \pm 0.03$) have been determined.