Plastic distortion as a fundamental mechanism in nonlinear mesomechanics of plastic deformation and fracture

Any deformed solid represents two self-consistent functional subsystems: a 3D crystal subsystem and a 2D planar subsystem (surface layers and all internal interfaces). In the planar subsystem, which lacks thermodynamic equilibrium and translation invariance, a primary plastic flow develops as nonlinear waves of structural transformations. At the nanoscale, such planar nonlinear transformations create lattice curvature in the 3D subsystem, resulting in bifurcational interstitial states there. The bifurcational states give rise to a fundamentally new mechanism of plastic deformation and fracture—plastic distortion—which is allowed for neither in continuum mechanics nor in fracture mechanics. The paper substantiates that plastic distortion plays a leading role in dislocation generation and glide, plasticity and superplasticity, plastic strain localization and fracture.     

Interaction of the structural and magnetic subsystems in crystals upon severe plastic deformation by torsion

Interaction between the structural and magnetic subsystems of a crystal has been studied near phase transition lines. The consideration has been performed in terms of the Landau phenomenological theory. It has been shown that severe plastic deformation by torsion leads to a forced formation of a heterogeneous distribution in the magnetic subsystem. A nonsine space modulation of the magnitudes of the magnetic and structural parameters appears near the lines of the magnetic and structural phase transitions. An analysis of the obtained dependences has demonstrated a possibility of designing various distributions of the ferromagnetic vector in crystals under action of severe plastic deformation by torsion.     

Elastic and plastic deformations of nickel nanowires under uniaxial compression

Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulation with a Sutton–Chen many body potential, we studied the structural evolution and deformation mechanisms of nickel nanowires under homogeneous uniaxial compressions. Nickel nanowires with helical multi-shell structure and fcc-like crystalline structures have been considered. Elastic and plastic behaviors of nickel nanowires under compression were observed and their elastic limits were determined. Our simulations show that the nickel nanowires with helical multi-shell structure have greater yield strength than that of macroscopic solid. Above elastic limit, the plastic deformation of the nanowires shows behavior that is associated with superplasticity. The final atomic structures for the two kinds of nanowires are resemblant crystalline-like.     

晶体塑性有限元方法研究辐照对多晶铜力学性能的影响

将辐照硬化理论与晶体塑性理论结合, 运用ABAQUS有限元分析软件模拟辐照后多晶铜的拉伸过程。分析辐照效应对材料屈服强度、硬化过程、晶体变形等力学性能的影响, 研究位错密度的演化及空间分布规律。数值模拟表明: 辐照效应提高多晶铜的屈服应力, 影响不同阶段的硬化和软化现象; 辐照剂量增大导致位错密度增殖总体变缓, 空间不均匀度增大; 晶体的塑性变形及晶体转动也受到辐照的影响, 在相同的应变条件下, 辐照剂量越大, 晶体塑性变形程度越小, 塑性变形分布不均匀度变大, 同时晶体转动程度及转动角离散度增大。     

Nonlinear wave processes in a deformable solid as a hierarchically organized system

Theoretical predictions and experiments demonstrate that solid state mechanics should consider, along with a structurally equilibrium 3D crystalline subsystem, a structurally nonequilibrium planar subsystem as a complex of all surface layers and internal interfaces with broken translation invariance. Primary plastic flow of a loaded solid develops in its structurally nonequilibrium planar subsystem as channeled nonlinear waves of local structural transformations that determine the self-organization law of multiscale plastic flow. These waves initiate mesoscale rotational deformation modes, giving rise to all types of microscale strain-induced defects in the planar subsystem. The strain-induced defects are emitted into the crystalline subsystem as an inhibitor of nonlinear waves of plastic flow in the planar subsystem. Plastic deformation of solids, whatever the loading type, evolves in the field of rotational couple forces. Loss of hierarchical self-consistency by rotational deformation modes culminates in fracture of material as an uncompensated rotational deformation mode on the macroscale.     

Effect of plastic deformation at the crack tip in a crystal on the direction of the tip growth under a mixed load

Evolution of plastic deformation at the tip of a wedge-shaped crack in a crystal under planar strain (modes I and II) was calculated for different cleavage planes, easy-slip systems, angles at the wedge tip, and ratios of the external extension and shear loads. Time distributions are obtained for the plastic deformation, the effective shear stress, the stress intensity factor, and the crack growth direction under monotonic load of the crystal up to a specified limit and further relaxation to establishment of equilibrium distributions under a constant external load. Numerical calculations were performed for an α-Fe crystal.     

Mechanism of Plastic Collapse of Nanosized Crystals with BCC Lattice under Uniaxial Compression

Within the dislocation–kinetic approach, based on the nonlinear kinetic equation for dislocation density, an attempt is made to consider the problem of a catastrophic plastic collapse of defect-free nanocrystals of metals with bcc lattice under their uniaxial compression with a constant deformation rate. Solutions of this equation were found in the form of moving waves, describing the dislocation multiplication process as the wave moves along the crystal from a local dislocation source. Comparison of the theory with the results of experiments on defect-free Mo nanocrystals showed that their ultrahigh strength at the initial stage of deformation is associated with a low rate of rise of crystal plastic deformation in comparison with the growth of its elastic component. The subsequent plastic collapse of crystal is caused by a sharp increasing the plastic component, ending with reaching the equality of elastic and plastic deformation rates.

     

Brittle nanomaterials: Hardness and superplasticity

The data on the hardness and superplasticity of nanomaterials based on brittle high-melting point compounds such as carbides, nitrides, borides, intermetallics, and oxides are analyzed. The nonmonotonic change in the hardness with a change in the nanolayer thickness in multilayer films and the grain size in bulk nanomaterials is discussed. The fracture of these materials has intercrystalline character. However, residual plastic deformation is observed in some cases, for example, in for nanocolumnar TiN coatings and SiC single-crystal nanowire. The nanostructured approach was very successful in the development of nanocomposites with high-strain-rate superplasticity (∼10⁻² s⁻¹, T = 1400°C). The poorly investigated problems are pointed.     

Structure and phase composition of an Al-Mg-Li-Zr alloy under high-rate superplasticity conditions

Uniaxial-tensile tests are performed on samples of a commercial aluminum-lithium alloy subjected to equal-channel angular extrusion. It is found that the material under study has a highly fine-grain structure and exhibits superplasticity under tension. The microstructure of the samples is studied during their plastic deformation.     

Prediction of the Dynamic Yield Strength of Metals Using Two Structural-Temporal Parameters

The behavior of the yield strength of steel and a number of aluminum alloys is investigated in a wide range of strain rates, based on the incubation time criterion of yield and the empirical models of Johnson-Cook and Cowper-Symonds. In this paper, expressions for the parameters of the empirical models are derived through the characteristics of the incubation time criterion; a satisfactory agreement of these data and experimental results is obtained. The parameters of the empirical models can depend on some strain rate. The independence of the characteristics of the incubation time criterion of yield from the loading history and their connection with the structural and temporal features of the plastic deformation process give advantage of the approach based on the concept of incubation time with respect to empirical models and an effective and convenient equation for determining the yield strength in a wider range of strain rates.     

Mesoscale plastic flow instability in a solid under high-rate deformation

Here we consider high-rate deformation in solids in the context of a nonlocal transport theory, present a dynamic stress-strain diagram with elastic and plastic portions defined from a single standpoint, determine the conditions for pulse stress accumulation, and propose a mathematical model of momentum and energy exchange between scales and an instability criterion for transient plastic flow under shock loading. Phe instability criterion for high-rate deformation is verified by the example of shock loading of high-strength 30CrNi4Mo steel.     

Evolution of substructures under microlevel and mesolevel plastic deformation

The existence of a hierarchy of structural levels of plastic deformation can be considered to be an experimentally and theoretically proven fact [1–3]. Mescheryakov [1] showed that a noncrytallographic level of deformation arises in elastoplastic waves, manifesting itself as macrofluxes of particles of the medium; the velocity of the particles relative to each other at velocity has dispersion and the particles move in the direction of the wave propagation. Displacement of macrofragments of the crystal, which is also a manifestation of noncrystallographic structural levels of deformation, has been detected in highly excited systems [2]. The relaxation approach used increasingly to describe plastic deformation assumes that defects are created, move, and are restructured during deformation in a way so that the level of stresses inside the material drops. The nonuniformity of the stress field gives rise to nonuniform plastic deformation and local shears and rotations at points of stress concentration. These concepts make it possible to use the principles of synergetics to build specific theoretical models and to consider loaded material as a nonequilibrum dissipative structure [3]. To date, however, the construction of the theory describing multilevel plastic deformation processes has not been completed. In particular, it is not yet known what levels are added, depending on the rate and duration of the loading and on how the levels are linked.St. Petersburg Branch of the A. A. Blagonravov Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 7–12, October, 1992.     

Influence of the grain size and structural state of grain boundaries on the parameter of low-temperature and high-rate superplasticity of nanocrystalline and microcrystalline alloys

A model has been proposed for calculating the grain size optimum for the deformation of nanocrystalline and microcrystalline materials under superplasticity conditions. The model is based on the concepts of the theory of nonequilibrium grain boundaries in metals. It has been demonstrated that the optimum grain size d _opt can be calculated as the size at which a high level of nonequilibrium of grain boundaries is combined with a high intensity of the accommodation of grain boundary sliding. The dependences of the quantity d _opt on the rate and temperature of the strain and the thermodynamic parameters of the material have been derived. The results obtained have been compared with the experimental data on the superplasticity of nanocrystalline and microcrystalline aluminum and magnesium alloys.     

Unifying the criteria of elastic stability of solids

The elastic stability criterion formulated by Born is based on the convexity requirement of the equilibrium free energy F of a stress-free crystal under small strain fluctuation, that demands the elastic constant tensor C to be positive definite, |C| > 0. For a crystal subject to an external stress, Hill specifies that for the crystal to be stable, the difference between its internal energy change δE and the work done to the system δW must be positive, i.e. δE - δW > 0. Polanyi, Frenkel, and Orowan proposed a different stability criterion based on stress increment for a loaded system, τ(ε + Δε) - τ(ε) > 0 until the limit is reached at dτ/dε = 0. Although known empirically, the formal connection between the different criteria has not been established rigorously. Using finite deformation theory, we show quite simply that the different formulations of the stability criteria originate from the same necessary condition for the convexity of the free energy of the system subject to external loading, f = F - W. However, in practice caution must be taken in implementation of the different criteria; they may lead to quite different results, especially when stability bifurcation occurs.     

搅拌摩擦焊准稳态热力耦合过程数值模拟研究

搅拌摩擦焊接过程中的材料塑性变形流场与温度场对焊接接头的组织演化及最终的力学性能有着十分重要的影响,许多学者对此进行了大量的研究.近年来的研究结果表明,该过程是一个极其复杂的热力耦合过程,温度场与材料塑性变形流场之间具有相互耦合效应.运用流体力学和传热学原理对准稳态热力耦合过程进行了数值模拟研究,通过计算得到了焊件材料的流场和温度场分布,并设计了相关实验对温度场进行了验证,结果表明该计算结果可以较准确地描述搅拌摩擦焊准稳态热力耦合状态.     

On the nature of low-temperature brittleness of BCC steels

The study demonstrates the possibility to suppress the ductile-brittle transition in bcc-structured steels at low strain temperatures on the example of pipe steel subjected to severe plastic deformation. The suppression of the ductile-brittle transition in the material is associated with structural changes in its planar subsystem (surface layers and grain boundaries in polycrystals) and substructure formation in its 3D crystalline subsystem.     

Effect of stress state on deformation and fracture of nanocrystalline copper:Molecular dynamics simulation

Deformation in a microcomponent is often constrained by surrounding joined material making the component under mixed loading and multiple stress states. In this study, molecular dynamics(MD) simulation are conducted to probe the effect of stress states on the deformation and fracture of nanocrystalline Cu. Tensile strain is applied on a Cu single crystal,bicrystal and polycrystal respectively, under two different tension boundary conditions. Simulations are first conducted on the bicrystal and polycrystal models without lattice imperfection. The results reveal that, compared with the performance of simulation models under free boundary condition, the transverse stress caused by the constrained boundary condition leads to a much higher tensile stress and can severely limit the plastic deformation, which in return promotes cleavage fracture in the model. Simulations are then performed on Cu single crystal and polycrystal with an initial crack. Under constrained boundary condition, the crack tip propagates rapidly in the single crystal in a cleavage manner while the crack becomes blunting and extends along the grain boundaries in the polycrystal. Under free boundary condition, massive dislocation activities dominate the deformation mechanisms and the crack plays a little role in both single crystals and polycrystals.     

Fundamental role of crystal structure curvature in plasticity and strength of solids

In the paper, we use the nonlinear multiscale approach of physical mesomechanics to demonstrate that the scales of local crystal structure curvature in solids play a fundamental role in the generation of strain-induced defects and cracks. It is shown that strain-induced defects arise at the interfaces of 2D planar and 3D crystal subsystems by the mechanism of “laser pumping” and cracks nucleate as structural phase decay in the zones of crystal structure curvature where the nonequilibrium thermodynamic potential or so-called Gibbs energy is higher than zero. Nonlinear fracture mechanics eliminates the problem of singularity 1/r in equations of crack growth but requires accounting for local lattice curvature at the crack tip.     

Phase transformations in crystalline Ti-Ni-Cu alloy upon severe plastic deformation

X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to study features of the structural and phase transformations of initially crystalline T1₅₀Ni₂₅Cu₂₅ alloy upon severe plastic deformation in a Bridgman cell. Three cycles of successive phase transitions of the crystal ⟹ amorphous state and amorphous state ⟹ crystal type were revealed under continually increasing deformation. The results are explained within the superposition of different channels of elastic energy dissipation at severe plastic deformation.