Experimental and theoretical studies on the elasticity of molybdenum to 12 GPa

Experiments have been conducted to measure compressional VP and shear wave VS velocities as well as unit-cell volumes densities of molybdenum to 12.0 GPa at room temperature using ultrasonic interferometry in conjunction with synchrotron x-radiation. Both VP and VS as well as the adiabatic bulk KS and shear G moduli exhibit monotonic increase with increasing pressure. A finite strain equation of state analysis of the directly measured velocities and densities yields KS0 =260.7 5 GPa, G0=125.1 2 GPa, KS0 =4.7 1 , and G0 =1.5 1 for the elastic bulk and shear moduli and their pressure derivatives at ambient conditions. Complimentary to the experimental data, VP and VS as well as the elastic bulk and shear moduli were also computed using density functional theory DFT at pressures comparable to the current experiment. Comparing with experimental results, the velocities and elastic moduli from DFT calculations exhibit close agreement with the current experimental data both in their values as well as in their pressure dependence. © 2009 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.3197135