Effect of intermediate plastic deformation on the high-temperature creep and lifetime of aluminum

The effect of various types of intermediate plastic deformation on the high-temperature creep of polycrystalline aluminum is studied. Intermediate deformation is performed after testing for 0.44 of the time to failure t _f via the single or multiple action of a hydrostatic pressure of 1000 MPa on porosity or via tension or compression at atmospheric pressure. Intermediate deformation is shown to decrease the creep rate, to increase the time to failure, and to increase the grain size. The change in the creep rate is maximal upon the cyclic (in the same test time intervals) action of pressure. A relation between the creep rate and the grain size has been reveled. The detected decrease in the creep rate is assumed to be caused by a decrease in the density of mobile dislocations (due to recrystallization).     

Theory of plastic vortex creep

We develop a theory for plastic vortex creep in a topologically disordered (dislocated) vortex solid phase in type-II superconductors in terms of driven thermally activated dislocation dynamics. Plastic barriers for dislocations show a power-law divergence at small driving currents j, U(pl)( j) approximately j(-&mgr;), with &mgr; = 1 for a single dislocation and &mgr; = 2/5 for creep of dislocation bundles. This implies a suppression of the creep rate at the transition from the ordered vortex phase ( &mgr; = 2/11) to the dislocated glass and can manifest itself as an observed increase of the apparent critical current (second peak). Our approach applies to general dynamics of disordered elastic media on a random substrate.     

Wave phenomena during creep in macrocrystalline aluminum

A wave model of plastic flow, which has been theoretically substantiated and experimentally verified under the conditions of active quasistatic loading of diverse materials, is being developed on the basis of concepts of the autocatalytic nature of elementary acts of plastic deformation. Data from the study of the evolution of distortion fields during low-temperature creep of macrocrystalline aluminum are given in order to explain the tighter relation between the parameters of plastic-deformation waves and the characteristics of the elementary processes of plastic shear. The wave nature of this evolution is emphasized and a linear correlation is found between the creep rate and the velocity of the plasticity waves. The activation volumes of the processes controlling the velocity of the plastic waves and the creep rate are shown to be correlated.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 5–9, April, 1991.     

Mesoscale plastic deformation of aluminum polycrystals

A study is made of the mechanism of plastic deformation at the mesoscale level in flat specimens of aluminum polycrystals. The mechanism is examined with the use of high-resolution optical-television system TOMSC-1. It is shown that a multilevel mesoscale structure is formed in the specimen as it is deformed. The formation of this structure leads to the appearance of two types of stationary waves 120 μm and 4.8 mm long. The results are interpreted within the framework of a hierarchy of mesoscale levels of deformation and are linked with the decisive role of surface oxide films in the formation of the mesoband structure and stationary waves associated plastic flow. Institute of the Physics of Strength and Materials Science, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 31–39, January, 1997.     

Exoelectronic emission in active strain and creep conditions

It is established in the course of investigating exoelectronic emission of lead in a strain process with constant rate and under creep conditions, that the kinetics and emission current parameters are determined by the development of a thermal activation process of dynamic recovery.     

Serrated creep and spatio-temporal structures of macrolocalized plastic deformation

The dynamics and morphology of macrolocalized deformation bands have been investigated using a complex of high-speed in situ methods under the conditions of serrated creep of flat samples of the aluminum-magnesium alloy 5456 with different aspect ratios. It has been found that, at the front of a macroscopic plastic deformation jump, a complex structure of propagating deformation bands, which are considered as macrolocalized deformation “quanta,” is spontaneously formed in the material. It has been shown that, with an increase in the sample length, the deformation behavior of the alloy tends to the state of self-organized criticality.     

Build-up of strain defects and the energetics of plastic strain

Calculations are presented for the concentrations of strain defects in a strained crystal and from these data the values of the stored energy E are computed. The contribution of dislocations and the strain points of defects to the stored energy is evaluated as a function of the strain for monocrystals of copper. The work of the strain is determined. A comparison is made of the theoretical results with those obtained by experiment.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 12–16, April, 1984.     

Low-temperature instability of the plastic deformation of aluminum

The low-temperature instability of the plastic flow (step deformation) with a change in the state of the defect structure and geometric sizes of the polycrystalline aluminum specimen is investigated. It is demonstrated that the dependence of the magnitude of the step on the deforming stress exhibits an identical behavior for all the studied parameters of the specimens. A model is proposed for generating the step deformation of the metal, according to which there occurs a primary athermic overcoming of the potential barrier by a group of dislocations.     

Structural changes in aluminum alloys upon severe plastic deformation

The structure and phase composition of Al-Zn, Al-Mg, and Al-Mg-Zn alloys were studied before and after severe plastic deformation of these alloys. The deformation was performed by high pressure torsion with true strain of ～6. It was established that, as a result of severe plastic deformation, the grains of Al and Zn and also of the β and τ phases revealed in the structure decrease significantly in size and reach nanometer scales. A supersaturated solid solution of Zn in Al decomposes completely in this case and achieves the equilibrium state corresponding to room temperature. The decomposition is less pronounced for the magnesium-containing alloys. Based on the obtained experimental data, a conclusion is drawn concerning the possible mechanisms of this process. Microhardness measurements revealed softening of the alloys as a result of the deformation, which is due to the decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution.     

Kinetics of Macrolocalization Patterns of Plastic Flow of Metals

The features of the macroscopic inhomogeneity of plastic deformation in the form of autowaves with a pulsating amplitude are analyzed, and data on the localization of sources of acoustic emission at different stages of plastic flow in the stretching of fcc mono- and polycrystals are presented. The relationship between the local components of the plastic distortion tensor in the strain localization zone is traced. The role of acoustic phenomena accompanying the localization of plastic strain in the development of the process of plastic deformation is considered.     

Distinctive features of plastic strain localization under severe plastic deformation of metals

Mechanical testing is performed and the structure of zirconium and aluminum predeformed by ∼450% using multiaxial forging (MAF) and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is investigated. Tensile loading tests of the severely deformed specimens exhibited their tendency to necking, with the ductility of the material in the neck, however, being superior to that in the neck of initial coarse-grained specimens. The results of the experiments imply that a fundamental stage of plastic flow of solids under severe plastic deformation (SPD) is the formation of cellular-banded structure and strain localization in the fine-grain bands. This considerably retards further deformation-induced refinement of the structure by SPD, and also results in the rapid formation of a fracture neck in the materials with this structure. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 11, pp. 43–49, November, 2007.     

On the nature of plastic strain localization in solids

Theoretical and experimental investigation is performed into the relation between plastic strain localizations of different scale in solids and the respective stress concentrators arising in the surface layer and at internal interfaces. It is found that localized plastic flow of any kind may form and propagate only under strongly nonequilibrium conditions in the zones of normal tensile stress. In the presence of excessive atomic volume, virtual nodes of a structure with higher energy emerge in the space of interstitials and a local structural transformation occurs via collective atom-vacancy configuration excitations. It is concluded that the nature of the plastic flow localization should be described on the basis of representation of strained solid as a multilevel system.     

Nonuniformity of the strain distribution during creep and extension

A statistical method has been used for a quantitative study of the nonuniformity of the strain distribution during creep and static extension of polycrystalline aluminum (99.8%). During creep the nonuniformity of the strain distribution is controlled by elongation and, in contrast with the case of static extension, is nearly independent of the grain size, the temperature, and the stress. During creep the nonuniformity of the microscopic-strain distribution at large macroscopic-strain levels is more pronounced than during static extension.     

Dependence of nonrecovering plastic strain on the degree of macro-nonuniformity of strain distribution

The authors have investigated the effect of nonuniformity of distribution of plastic torsional strain (H_k) due to the method of application of the load on the nonrecovery of macro-shear observed in tubular test pieces subjected to alternating torsion [1–2].It has been established that with increase in H_k there is a regular increase in the values of the nonrecovery characteristics, the maximum nonrecovery rate and the total nonrecovering strain (g1) corresponding to this period. An analogous increase is observed in the relative elongation due to torsion and the corresponding reduced axial tensile stress (_k). A nonrecovery mechanism is proposed for alternating torsion.     

Mechanism of low-frequency discrete acoustic emission during intermittent creep of aluminum alloy

A correlation between the dynamics of deformation bands and the discrete acoustic emission during the intermittent creep of the AlMg6 alloy using a high-speed video recording with a time resolution to 50 μs has been studied. A trigger of a macroscopic deformation step in the creep curve is the nucleation and the broadening of the primary deformation band that generates a characteristic acoustic emission signal with duration of several milliseconds. The results confirm the mechanism of generating an acoustic emission signal related to the cooperative dislocations outcrop on the specimen external surface.