Measurement of Body-Centered-Cubic Aluminum at 475 GPa

Nanosecond in situ x-ray diffraction and simultaneous velocimetry measurements were used to determine the crystal structure and pressure, respectively, of ramp-compressed aluminum at stress states between 111 and 475 GPa. The solid-solid Al phase transformations, fcc–hcp and hcp–bcc, are observed at $216\pm 9$ and $321\pm 12\mathrm{GPa}$, respectively, with the bcc phase persisting to 475 GPa. The high-pressure crystallographic texture of the hcp and bcc phases suggests close-packed or nearly close-packed lattice planes remain parallel through both transformations.