The manipulation of intense shock waves to either attenuate or enhance damage has long been a key goal in the domain of impact dynamics. Effective methods for such manipulation, however, remain elusive due to the wide-range spectrum and irreversible destructive nature of intense shock waves. This work proposes a novel approach for actively controlling intense shock waves in solids, inspired by the principles of optical lens and explosive lens. Specifically, by designing a shock wave convex lens composed of a low shock impedance material embedded in the high shock-impedance matrix, we prove the feasibility to transform a planar shock into a spherically converging shock. This is based on the oblique shock theory in which shock wave pass through the oblique interface and then undergo the deflection. Both experimental and simulated results demonstrate that the obtained local spherical shock wave is, as expected, with the wavefront being nearly perfectly spherical and uniform in pressure. Therefore, this work provides the possibility to generate spherical shock waves using plate-impact experiments and highlights the potential to further explore the manipulation of shock waves in solids. This also contributes innovative perspectives to both armor penetration technologies and shock wave mitigation strategies.

non-planar shock wave,shock wave manipulation,shock wave lens,spherically converging shock wave