Richtmyer–Meshkov instability as a tool for evaluating material strength under extreme conditions

A new method for the experimental evaluation of material strength of solids under high pressures is proposed. The technique is based on inferring the solid yield strength from induced Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities by a single steady shock wave. Although the method is limited to loadings below the melting pressure, it still allows to access to an important regime of interest for applied and basic physics with relatively modest facilities widely available. It is envisaged as an alternative in the range of 100 GPa loading pressures to the currently used Rayleigh–Taylor based technique.