EFFECT OF EXPLOSIVE IMPACTING ON URANIUM

The tensile and yield strengths of both cast and wrought uranium discs were substantially increased by explosively impacting them at room teraperature and at 375 deg F. However, the room-temperature impacting caused gross damage in the cast material and slight internal damage in the wrought material at the highest impacting pressures. Impacting at 375 deg F, which is just above the brittie-ductile transition temperature for uranium, was the most effective method for increasing the strengths with no damage to either the cast or wrought material. This impacted material retained some of its increased strengih after a lowtemperature (425 deg C) vacuum anneal that greatly increased the elongation. A salt anneal caused a partial recrystallization in the impacted cast uranium. (auth