Re-Reflections of an Elastic Precursor of a Shock Wave in Solids

By the example of experimental data on the reflection of an elastic–plastic shock wave from a free surface of a steel or aluminum-alloy plate, the conditions and regularities of the formation of the re-reflected elastic wave are discussed. It is shown that the possibility of its formation, as well as its amplitude and attenuation, is related to the relaxation properties of the material in the state in front of the plastic shock wave.