| Abstract: | The deformation behavior of several single- and two-phase coarse microstructures has been examined using microhardness measurements.
It has been found that the strength response of a coarse phase in isolation is distinctly different from its response when
it exists in a two-phase system. The second phase alters the mechanical state of the first one andvice versa even in the plastically undeformed condition. This phenomenon is explained in terms of the existence of an appreciable amount
of residual stresses in two-phase coarse microstructures. These stresses primarily arise due to the difference in thermal
expansion coefficients of the phases. The in- fluence of elastic stress field on microhardness response is shown with a new
type of experiment to support the proposed explanation. The present results question the existing expressions for deformation
modeling of multiphase materials because of the uncertainties in the estimation of the average strength of the phases in a
two-phase system. |
