Deformation stages in a stabilized loading cycle of fatigued FCC metals(II). Discussion and conclusions

Considering the experimental results presented in Part I of this work and taking into account the nature of the deformation mechanisms during cycling, four deformation stages are assumed to exist in a stabilized loading cycle. The mechanical behaviour in the stages is discussed on different structure levels. In particular, it is shown that the heterogeneous plastic deformation caused by different local yield stresses in the dislocation-dense and dislocation-poor regions of the material seems to be limited to a relatively small interval of plastic strain ε_p (10⁻⁴ ≦ ε_p ≦ 10⁻³).