Equation of state measurements of additively manufactured tantalum up to 437 GPa

Symmetric impact experiments of additively manufactured tantalum (AM Ta) were performed on a two-stage light-gas gun at projectile velocities up to 6.7 km/s. The projectile velocity and shock transit time through the Ta sample were both measured using Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV), which enabled absolute measurements of the AM Ta shock equation of state. Our results showed that the shock response of the AM Ta samples agreed, within experimental uncertainties, with the previous measurements of the wrought Ta samples at pressures between 125 and 437 GPa. These results are promising for using additively manufactured components for inertial fusion energy and high-pressure materials science applications and demonstrate that the high-pressure behavior of AM Ta can be modeled using the existing equations of state for tantalum.