Equal-channel angular extrusion of beryllium

The equal-channel angular extrusion (ECAE) technique has been applied to a powder metallurgy (P/M) source Be alloy. Extrusions have been successfully completed on Ni-canned billets of Be at approximately 425°C. No cracking was observed in the billets, and significant grain refinement was achieved. In this article, microstructural features and dislocation structures are discussed for a singlepass extrusion, including evidence of <c> and <c+a> dislocations. Significant crystallographic texture developed during ECAE, which is discussed in terms of this unique deformation processing technique and the underlying physical processes which sustain the deformation. S.R. AGNEW, formerly with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6115 This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Deformation behavior of HCP Ti-Al alloy single crystals

Single crystals of Ti-Al alloys containing 1.4, 2.9, 5, and 6.6 pct Al (by weight) were oriented for 〈a〉 slip on either basal or prism planes or loaded parallel along the c-axis to enforce a nonbasal deformation mode. Most of the tests were conducted in compression and at temperatures between 77 and 1000 K. Trace analysis of prepolished surfaces enabled identification of the twin or slip systems primarily responsible for deformation. Increasing the deformation temperature, Al content, or both, acted to inhibit secondary twin and slip systems, thereby increasing the tendency toward strain accommodation by a single slip system having the highest resolved stress. In the crystals oriented for basal slip, transitions from twinning to multiple slip and, finally, to basal slip occurred with increasing temperature in the lower-Al-content alloys, whereas for Ti-6.6 pct Al, only basal slip was observed at all temperatures tested. A comparison of the critically resolved shear stress (CRSS) values for basal and prism slip as a function of Al content shows that prism slip is favored at room temperature in pure Ti, but the stress to activate these two systems becomes essentially equal in the Ti-6.6 pct Al crystals over a wide range of temperatures. Compression tests on crystals oriented so that the load was applied parallel to the c-axis showed extensive twinning in lower Al concentrations and 〈c+a〉 slip at higher Al concentrations, with a mixture of 〈c+a〉 slip and twinning at intermediate compositions. A few tests also were conducted in tension, with the load applied parallel to the c-axis. In these cases, twinning was observed, and the resolved shear for plastic deformation by twinning was much lower that that for 〈c+a〉 slip observed in compression loading. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science and Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Transmission electron microscopy investigation of 〈c+a〉 dislocations in Mg and α-solid solution Mg-Li alloys

The ductility of Mg alloys is limited due to a shortage of independent slip systems. In particular, c-axis compression cannot be accommodated by any of the easy slip or twinning modes. Basal-textured samples of pure Mg and Mg-15 at. pct Li were examined for the presence of 〈c+a〉 dislocations by post-mortem transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after a small deformation, which forced the majority of grains to compress nearly parallel to their c-axes. A higher density and more uniform distribution of 〈c+a〉 dislocations is found in the Li-containing alloy. Because the 1/3〈11 3〉 {11 } pyramidal slip mode offers five independent slip systems, it provides a satisfying explanation for the enhanced ductility of α-solid solution Mg-Li alloys as compared to pure Mg. The issue of 〈c+a〉 dislocation dissociation and decomposition remains open from an experimental point of view. Theoretically, the most feasible configuration is a collinear dissociation into two 1/2〈c+a〉 partial dislocations, with an intervening stacking fault on the glide plane. It is speculated that Li additions may lower the fault’s energy and, thereby, increase the stability of this glissile configuration. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Nonbasal deformation modes of HCP metals and alloys: Role of dislocation source and mobility

A review is presented on the role of dislocation cores and planar faults in activating the nonbasal deformation modes, 〈c+a〉 pyramidal slip and deformation twinning, in hcp metals and alloys and in D0₁₉ intermetallic compounds. Material-specific mechanical behavior arises from a competition between altemate defect structures that determine the deformation modes. We emphasize the importance of accurate atomistic modeling of these defects, going beyond simple interatomic energy models. Recent results from both experiments and theory are summarized by discussing specific examples of Ti and Mg single crystals; Ti-, Zr-, and Mg-base alloys; and Ti₃Al ordered alloys. Remaining key issues and directions for future research are also discussed. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM and TMS committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Molecular Dynamics simulation of 〈 c + a 〉 dislocation core structure in hexagonal-close-packed metals

The core structures of 〈c+a〉 dislocations in hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals have been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using a Lennard-Jones-type pair potential. The 〈c+a〉 edge dislocation has two types of core at 0 K; one is a perfect dislocation (type A), and the other has two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partials (type B). Type A transforms to type B by abruptly increasing temperature from 0 K to 293 K, while type B is stable in temperature range from 0 K to 293 K. In contrast, type A extends parallel to (0001) at 30 K, and this extended core is still stable at 293 K. These results suggest that the 〈c+a〉 edge dislocation glides on the as two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partial dislocations and becomes sessile, due to changes of the core structure. The 〈c+a〉 screw dislocation spreads over two planes at 0 K. The core transforms into a unsymmetrical structure at 293 K, which is spread over and , and core spreading occurs parallel to at 1000 K. A critical strain to move screw dislocations depends on the sense of shear strain. The dependence of the yield stress on the shear direction can be explained in terms of these core structures. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Dect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of 〈<Emphasis Type="Bold">c</Emphasis>+<Emphasis Type="Bold">a</Emphasis>〉 dislocation core structure in hexagonal-close-packed metals

The core structures of 〈c+a〉 dislocations in hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals have been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using a Lennard-Jones-type pair potential. The 〈c + a〉 edge dislocation has two types of core at 0 K; one is a perfect dislocation (type A), and the other has two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partials (type B). Type A transforms to type B by abruptly increasing temperature from 0 K to 293 K, while type B is stable in temperature range from 0 K to 293 K. In contrast, type A extends parallel to (0001) at 30 K, and this extended core is still stable at 293 K. These results suggest that the 〈c+a〉 edge dislocation glides on the {11 2} as two 1/2 〈c+a〉 partial dislocations and becomes sessile due to changes of the core structure. The 〈c+a〉 screw dislocation spreads over two {10 1} planes at 0 K. The core transforms into a unsymmetrical structure at 293 K, which is spread over {11 2} and {10 1}, and core spreading occurs parallel to {11 2} at 1000 K. A critical strain to move screw dislocations depends on the sense of shear strain. The dependence of the yield stress on the shear direction can be explained in terms of these core structures. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Microstructural characterization of novel in-situ Al-Be composites

The microstructure of cast and extruded in-situ Al-Be alloys, of compositions of Be-37Al-3Ni (wt pct) and Be-34Al-2Ni-2Ag-2Si (wt pct), was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The study indicates that both the Be and Al phases are continuous. The Be phase has a coarse dendritic structure in the as-cast material. Fractographic analysis of failed tensile specimens tested at room temperature revealed basal-plane cleavage failure of the Be phase and ductile failure of the Al phase. A significant number of deformation twins were observed in the Be phase when the tensile loading axis was parallel to the Be dendrite growth axis. An additional fracture mode was observed in the samples tested at elevated temperatures. At elevated temperatures, decohesion of the Al-Be interface was observed on the fracture surface. This phenomena was observed to increase as the test temperature increased from 150 °C to 315 °C. A high density of dislocations with a tangled morphology were observed in the Al phase after the tensile test. These were determined to be associated with easy slip of 1/2〈101〉-type dislocations. The limited ductility of the Be phase was attributed to the predominant basal slip of 〈a〉-type dislocations, b = 1/3〈1120〉, and the lack of dislocations with 〈c〉 components. However, a significant number of dislocations with 〈c〉 components were found in localized areas of the Be phase after extrusion.     

Nonbasal deformation modes of HCP metals and alloys: Role of dislocation source and mobility

A review is presented on the role of dislocation cores and planar faults in activating the nonbasal deformation modes, <c + a> pyramidal slip and deformation twinning, in hcp metals and alloys and in D0₁₉ intermetallic compounds. Material-specific mechanical behavior arises from a competition between alternate defect structures that determine the deformation modes. We emphasize the importance of accurate atomistic modeling of these defects, going beyond simple interatomic energy models. Recent results from both experiments and theory are summarized by discussing specific examples of Ti and Mg single crystals; Ti-, Zr-, and Mg-base alloys; and Ti₃Al ordered alloys. Remaining key issues and directions for future research are also discussed. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM and TMS committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Determination of dislocation densities in HCP metals from X-ray diffraction line-broadening analysis

X-Ray diffraction (XRD) line-broadening analysis has been performed on highly textured Zr-2.5Nb specimens which had been deformed in tensile tests to produce well-controlled dislocation structures. An iterative deconvolution method has been applied to extract the broadening function for the material, using as standards, a Zr single crystal and a 0 pct deformed specimen. In both cases, for specific tensile tests, a significant contribution to the basal line braodening was observed, which was clearly not directly related to the dislocation structure generated by the deformation, i.e., so-called c-component dislocations having a component of their Burgers vectors perpendicular to the basal plane. Calculations showed that the extent of basal line broadening cannot be attributed to the secondary effect of strain from a-type dislocations, i.e., dislocations with Burgers vectors parallel with the basal plane. It is concluded that most of the line broadening observed was the result of intergranular strain distributions. These distributions are most prominent for grains oriented with their c-axes perpendicular to the tensile-deformation axis and resulted in basal-plane line broadening even when there were few, if any, c-component dislocations present. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science and Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Determination of dislocation densities in HCP metals from X-ray diffraction line-broadening analysis

X-Ray diffraction (XRD) line-broadening analysis has been performed on highly textured Zr-2.5Nb specimens which had been deformed in tensile tests to produce well-controlled dislocation structures. An iterative deconvolution method has been applied to extract the broadening function for the material, using as standards, a Zr single crystal and a 0 pct deformed specimen. In both cases, for specific tensile tests, a significant contribution to the basal line broadening was observed, which was clearly not directly related to the dislocation structure generated by the deformation, i.e., so-called c-component dislocations having a component of their Burgers vectors perpendicular to the basal plane. Calculations showed that the extent of basal line broadening cannot be attributed to the secondary effect of strain from a-type dislocations, i.e., dislocations with Burgers vectors parallel with the basal plane. It is concluded that most of the line broadening observed was the result of intergranular strain distributions. These distributions are most prominent for grains oriented with their c-axes perpendicular to the tensile-deformation axis and resulted in basal-plane line broadening even when there were few, if any, c-component dislocations present. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science and Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Microstructure evolution in Zr under equal channel angular pressing

Pure polycrystalline Zr was deformed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), and the microstructural characteristics were analyzed. By repeated alternating ECAP, it was possible to refine the grain size from 200 to 0.2 μm. Subsequent annealing heat treatment at 550 °C resulted in a grain growth of up to 6 μm. Mechanical twinning was an important deformation mechanism, particularly during the early stage of deformation. The most active twinning system was identified as 85.2 deg {10 2}〈 011〉 tensile twinning, followed by 57.1 deg {10 1}〈 012〉 compressive twinning. Crystal texture as well as grain-boundary misorientation distribution of deformed Zr were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The ECAP-deformed Zr showed a considerable difference in the crystallographic attributes from those of cold-rolled Zr or Ti, in that texture and boundary misorientation-angle distribution tend toward more even distribution with a slightly preferential distribution of boundaries of a 20 to 30 deg misorientation angle. Furthermore, unlike the case of cold rolling, the crystal texture was not greatly altered by subsequent annealing heat treatment. Overall, the present work suggests ECAP as a viable method to obtain significant grain refining in hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Deformation behavior of HCP Ti-Al alloy single crystals

Single crystals of Ti-Al alloys containing 1.4, 2.9, 5, and 6.6 pct Al (by weight) were oriented for <a> slip on either basal or prism planes or loaded parallel along the c-axis to enforce a nonbasal deformation mode. Most of the tests were conducted in compression and temperatures between 77 and 1000 K. Trace analysis of prepolished surfaces enabled identification of the twin or slip systems primarily responsible for deformation. Increasing the deformation temperature, Al content, or both, acted to inhibit secondary twin and slip systems, thereby increasing the tendency toward strain accommodation by a single slip system having the highest resolved stress. In the crystals oriented for basal slip transitions from twinning to multiple slip and, finally, to basal slip occurred with increasing temprature in the lower-Al-content alloys, whereas for Ti-6.6 pct Al, only basal slip was observed at all temperatures tested. A comparison of the critically resolved shear stress (CRSS) values for basal and prism slip as a function of Al content shows that prism slip is favored at room temperature in pure Ti, but the stress to activate these two systems becomes essentially equal in the Ti-6.6 pct Al crystals over a wide range of temperatures. Compression tests on crystals oriented so that the load was applied parallel to the c-axis showed extensive twinning in lower Al concentrations and <c+a> slip at higher Al concentrations, with a mixture of <c+a> slip and twinning at intermediate compositions. A few tests also were conducted in tension, with the load applied parallel to the c-axis. In these cases, twinning was observed, and the resolved shear for plastic deformation by twinning was much lower that that, for <c+a> slip observed in compression loading. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science and Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Interfacial deformation mechanisms in hexagonal-close-packed metals

Deformation processes involving interfacial dislocation mechanisms in twin boundaries of hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals are described. The topological properties of individual defects, namely their Burgers vectors, b, and step heights, h, are defined rigorously, and the magnitude of the diffusional flux of material required for motion of a defect along an interface is expressed quantitatively in terms of b, h, and the material’s density. This framework enables interactions between defects to be treated and, in particular, enables identification of processes that are conservative. Using these topological arguments, it is shown that sessile interfacial defects in twins need not block further twinning and that the recently discovered Serra-Bacon (S—B) twinning mechanism is conservative. The possible wider significance of the S—B-type mechanism that causes localized lateral growth of twins is also considered briefly in the context of the deformation of hcp and martensitic materials. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Lousiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Anisotropy of point defect diffusion in alpha-zirconium

Two types of intrinsic defect, i.e., vacancy and self-interstitial atom (SIA), are formed in metals during irradiation with energetic particles. The evolution of defect population leads to significant changes in microstructure and causes a number of radiation-induced property changes. Some phenomena, such as radiation growth of anisotropic materials, are due to anisotropy in the atomic mass transport by point defects. Detailed information on atomic-scale mechanisms is, therefore, necessary to understand such phenomena. In this article, we present results of a computer simulation study of mass transport via point defects in alpha-zirconium. The matrix of self-diffusion coefficients and activation energies for vacancy and SIA defects have been obtained, and different methods of treatment of diffusion have been tested. Molecular dynamics (MD) shows that vacancy diffusion is approximately isotropic in the temperature range studied (1050 to 1650 K), although some preference for basalplane diffusion was observed at the lower end of the range. The mechanism of interstitial diffusion changes from one-dimensional (1-D) in a 〈11 0〉 direction at low temperature (<300 K) to two-dimensional (2-D) in the basal plane and, then, three-dimensional (3-D) at higher temperatures. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Interfacial deformation mechanisms in hexagonal-close-packed metals

Deformation processes involving interfacial dislocation mechanisms in twin boundaries of hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals are described. The topological properties of individual defects, namely their Burgers vectors, b, and step heights, h, are defined rigorously, and the magnitude of the diffusional flux of material required for motion of a defect along an interface is expressed quantitatively in terms of b, h, and the material’s density. This framework enables interactions between defects to be treated and, in particular, enables identification of processes that are conservative. Using these topological arguments, it is shown that sessile interfacial defects in twins need not block further twinning and that the recently discovered Serra-Bacon (S-B) twinning mechanism is conservative. The possible wider significance of the S-B-type mechanism that causes localized lateral growth of twins is also considered briefly in the context of the deformation of hcp and martensitic materials. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Effects of high rates of loading on the deformation behavior and failure mechanisms of hexagonal close-packed metals and alloys

A substantial amount of work has been performed on the effect of high rates of loading on the deformation and failure of fcc and bcc metals. In contrast, the influence of high strain rates and temperature on the flow stress of hcp metals has received relatively little attention, and the modes of dynamic failure of these materials are poorly characterized. The low symmetry of these materials and the development of twinning lead to a particularly rich set of potential mechanisms for deformation and failure at high rates. This article reviews results of high-strain-rate deformation and dynamic failure studies on hcp metals, with a focus on titanium, Ti-6Al-4V, and hafnium. Strain rates as high as 10⁵ s ⁻¹ are considered, and observations of adiabatic shear localization and subsequent failure are discussed. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Mobility of interstitial clusters in alpha-zirconium

Clusters of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) formed in displacement cascades in metals irradiated with energetic particles play an important role in microstructure evolution under irradiation. They have been studied in the fcc and bcc metals by atomic-scale computer simulation, and in this article, we present the results of a similar study in a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystal. Static and dynamic properties of clusters of up to 30 SIAs were studied using a many-body Finnis-Sinclair type interatomic potential for Zr. The results show a qualitative similarity of some properties of clusters to those for cubic metals. In particular, all clusters larger than four SIAs exhibit fast thermally activated one-dimensional (1-D) glide, which is in a 〈11 0〉 direction in the hcp lattice. Due to the structure of the hcp lattice, this mechanism leads to two-dimensional mass transport in basal planes. Some clusters exhibit behavior peculiar to the hcp structure, for they can migrate two-dimensionally (2-D) in the basal plane. The jump frequency, activation energy, and correlation factors of clusters have been estimated, and comparisons drawn between the behavior of SIA clusters in different structures. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Deformation twinning in polycrystalline Zr: Insights from electron backscattered diffraction characterization

The response of polycrystalline α-zirconium to various deformation conditions was investigated through electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) characterization. The range of deformation conditions included quasi-static compression and tension at room and cryogenic temperatures, along with a Taylor cylinder impact experiment. The resultant data provided spatial resolution of individual with system activity as a function of the progression of deformation. Over 300 deformation twins were analyzed to identify the type of twin system and active variant, along with the Schmid factor in the parent orientation. These data supplied information on the distribution of Schmid factor and variant rank as a function of twin system and deformation condition. Results showed significant deviation from a maximum Schmid factor activation criterion and suggest deformation twinning is greatly affected by local internal stress heterogeneities and the sense of the applied stress. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

The role of microstructure on strength and ductility of hot-extruded mechanically alloyed NiAl

Mechanical alloying followed by hot extrusion has been used to produce very fine-grained NiAl-based alloys containing oxide dispersoids. The dispersoids affect the progress of recrystallization during hot extrusion and contribute to the preservation of the 〈110〉 deformation fiber texture. The 〈110〉 texture enables the activation of 〈110〉 〈100〉 and 110 〈110〉 slip systems. The occurrence of 〈100〉 and 〈110〉 slip dislocations satisfies the von Mises criterion for general plasticity and is postulated to contribute to notable room-temperature compressive ductility of the mechanically alloyed (MA) materials. Another factor likely affecting the compressive ductility is the predominant occurrence of low-angle grain boundaries. The attractive dislocation — dispersoid interactions lead to a ductility trough observed at 800 K in the MA materials. The MA NiAl materials are strong at both ambient and elevated temperatures due to fine grain and the presence of dispersoids and interstitial atoms.