Deformation and failure of a superplastic AA5083 aluminum material with a cu addition

A modified AA5083 aluminum sheet material containing a Cu addition of 0.61 wt pct has been investigated under conditions relevant to commercial hot-forming technologies. This material was produced by continuous casting followed by industrial hot and cold rolling into sheet. Deformation and failure mechanisms at elevated temperatures were investigated through mechanical testing, thermal analysis, and microscopy. The effects of Cu addition are evaluated by comparisons with data from AA5083 sheet materials without Cu addition, produced both by continuous and direct-chill (DC) casting techniques. At low temperatures and fast strain rates, for which solute-drag (SD) creep governs deformation, the Cu addition slightly increases tensile ductility at 450 °C but does not otherwise alter deformation behaviors. At high temperatures and slow strain rates, for which grainboundary-sliding (GBS) creep governs deformation, the Cu addition decreases flow stress and, at 450 °C, improves tensile ductility. A strong temperature dependence for tensile ductility results from the Cu addition; tensile ductility at 500 °C is notably reduced from that at 450 °C. The Cu addition creates platelike particles at grain boundaries, which produce incipient melting and the observed mechanical behavior.     

High-strain-rate superplasticity in bulk cryomilled ultra-fine-grained 5083 Al

The ductility and creep of bulk ultra-fine-grained (UFG) 5083 Al (grain size ∼440 nm) processed by gas atomization, cryomilling, and consolidation were studied in the temperature range 523 to 648 K. Also, the creep microstructure developed in the alloy was examined by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The ductility as a function of strain rate exhibits a maximum that shifts to higher strain rates with increasing temperature. An analysis of the experimental data indicates that the true stress exponent is about 2, and the true activation energy is close to that anticipated for boundary diffusion in 5083 Al. These creep characteristics along with the ductility behavior of 5083 Al are a reflection of its creep behavior as a superplastic alloy and not as a solid-solution alloy. In addition, the observation of elongations of more than 300 pct at strain rates higher than 0.1 s⁻¹ is indicative of the occurrence of high-strain-rate (HSR) superplasticity. Microstructural evidence for the occurrence of HSR superplasticity includes the retention of equiaxed grains after deformation, the observation of features associated with the occurrence of grain boundary sliding, and the formation of cavity stringers. Grain size stability during the superplastic deformation of the alloy is attributed to the presence of dispersion particles that are introduced during gas spraying and cryomilling. These particles also serve as obstacles for dislocation motion, which may account for the threshold stress estimated from the creep data of the alloy.     

Failure mechanisms in superplastic AA5083 materials

The mechanisms of tensile failure in four 5083 aluminum sheet materials are evaluated under conditions of interest for superplastic and quick-plastic forming. Two mechanisms are shown to control failure of the AA5083 materials under uniaxial tension at elevated temperatures: cavitation and flow localization (i.e., necking). Conditions for which failure is controlled by cavitation correspond to those under which deformation is primarily by grain-boundary-sliding creep. Conditions for which failure is controlled by flow localization correspond to those under which deformation is primarily by solutedrag creep. A geometric parameter, Q, is used to determine whether final failure is controlled by cavitation or by flow localization. Differences in elongations to failure between the different AA5083 materials at high temperatures and slow strain rates are the result of differences in cavitation behaviors. The rate of cavitation growth with strain is nearly constant between the AA5083 materials for identical testing conditions, but materials with less tensile ductility evidence initial cavitation development at lower strain levels. The rate of cavitation growth with strain is shown to depend on the governing deformation mechanism; grain-boundary-sliding creep produces a faster cavitation growth rate than does solute-drag creep. A correlation is found between the early development of cavitation and the intermetallic particle-size population densities of the AA5083 materials. Fine filaments, oriented along the tensile axis, are observed on fracture surfaces and within surface cavities of specimens deformed primarily under grain-boundary-sliding creep. As deformation transitions to control by solute-drag creep, the density of these filaments dramatically decreases.     

Effect of Microstructure on Cavitation during Hot Deformation of a Fine-Grained Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy as Revealed through Three-Dimensional Characterization

The effect of microstructure on cavitation developed during hot deformation of a fine-grained AA5083 aluminum-magnesium alloy is investigated. Two-point correlation functions and three-dimensional (3-D) microstructure characterization reveal that cavitation depends strongly on the mechanism that controls plastic deformation. Grain-boundary-sliding (GBS) creep produces large, interconnected cavities rapidly during plastic straining. Solute-drag (SD) creep produces isolated cavities with less total volume fraction at a given strain. The 3-D microstructure data reveal adjacency between various microstructural features. Cavities are observed to be preferentially adjacent to large Al₆(Mn,Fe) particles and to Mg-Si particles of all observed sizes. These data suggest that cavities preferentially nucleate at Mg-Si particles and at large Al₆(Mn,Fe) particles. This result may be applied to reduce cavitation in commercial hot-forming operations utilizing aluminum-magnesium alloys.     

Numerical models of creep and boundary sliding mechanisms in single-phase, dual-phase, and fully lamellar titanium aluminide

Finite element simulations of the high-temperature behavior of single-phase γ, dual-phase α₂+γ, and fully lamellar (FL) α₂+γTiAl intermetallic alloy microstructures have been performed. Nonlinear viscous primary creep deformation is modeled in each phase based on published creep data. Models were also developed that incorporate grain boundary and lath boundary sliding in addition to the dislocation creep flow within each phase. Overall strain rates are compared to gain an understanding of the relative influence each of these localized deformation mechanisms has on the creep strength of the microstructures considered. Facet stress enhancement factors were also determined for the transverse grain facets in each model to examine the relative susceptibility to creep damage. The results indicate that a mechanism for unrestricted sliding of γ lath boundaries theorized by Hazzledine and co-workers leads to unrealistically high strain rates. However, the results also suggest that the greater creep strength observed experimentally for the lamellar microstructure is primarily due to inhibited former grain boundary sliding (GBS) in this microstructure compared to relatively unimpeded GBS in the equiaxed microstructures. The serrated nature of the former grain boundaries generally observed for lamellar TiAl alloys is consistent with this finding.     

Theory of plastic and viscous deformation

A theory of inelastic deformation, previously applied to 304 stainless steel with good quantitative agreement,² is used to study a variety of materials which differ in the degree to which dislocation motion is resisted by viscous drag forces. In the theory, mobile dislocations are injected into the material by the rising stress, move over a mean free path to create strain, and are trapped. The velocity of motion, determined by the magnitude of an effective stress relative to the viscous drag, determines the mean lifetime of mobile dislocations and thereby, in part, the mobile density. An attractive feature of the theory is its simplicity. There are only three significant physical constants, two which characterize the dislocation velocity and one, taken in this case to be material independent, which determines the strain-hardening coefficient. The calculations have been done to simulate a variety of tests done in a soft tensile machine, in which the principal control is exerted over the rate of stress increase. The results show diversetransient strain rate behavior, determined by the magnitude of the drag forces, but a commonsteady state strain rate, controlled by strain hardening. Soft materials with low viscous drag, such as copper, exhibit brief transients on change of stress rate, whereas in hard materials with high drag, such as iron-3.5 pct silicon, the transients are very long. These transients include the onset of yielding at the start of a strain-stress test, low temperature creep, and the strain rate response to a brief pulse of high stress rate. Thus for example, hard materials show long loading transients (slow approach to steady state), extensive low temperature creep, and no evident ‘rapid’ strain during a high rate stress pulse. For soft materials the converse results obtain. These differences and others distinguish, respectively, viscous and plastic deformation behavior.     

A Deformation Mechanism Map for the 1.23Cr-1.2Mo-0.26V Rotor Steel and Its Verification Using Neural Networks

A deformation mechanism map is constructed for the 1.23Cr-1.2Mo-0.26V rotor steel as a function of temperature, stress, and strain rate using published creep test results and the current understanding of time dependent deformation mechanisms operative in complex engineering alloys. Instead of diffusional creep, grain boundary sliding (GBS) accommodated by different deformation processes is considered dominant at lower strain rates. The GBS dominated region is further sub-divided into two parts, where GBS is accommodated by wedge type cracking at temperatures below 0.5T/T _m and the accommodation process changes to creep cavitation at temperatures above 0.5T/T _m. The map is verified using experimental data and artificial neural network modeling. The proposed artificial neural network model is capable of predicting the dominance of different deformation mechanisms in 1.23Cr-1.2Mo-0.26V steel over a wide range of stress and temperature. This modeling procedure can potentially be used to construct or expand deformation mechanism maps for other engineering alloys.     

Deformation mechanisms during low-and high-temperature superplasticity in 5083 Al-Mg alloy

The controlling deformation mechanisms and grain boundary sliding behavior during low-, medium-, and high-temperature superplasticity (LTSP, MTSP, and HTSP) in fine-grained 5083 Al-Mg base alloys are systematically examined as a function of strain. Grain boundary sliding was observed to proceed at temperatures as low as 200 °C. With increasing LTSP straining from the initial (ε<0.5) to later stages (ε>1.0), the strain rate sensitivity m, plastic anisotropy factor R, high-angle grain boundary fraction, grain size exponent p, and grain boundary sliding contribution all increased. During the initial LTSP stage, there was little grain size dependence and the primary deformation mechanisms were solute drag creep plus minor power-law creep. At later stages, grain size dependence increased and grain boundary sliding gradually controlled the deformation. During MTSP and HTSP, solute drag creep and grain boundary sliding were the dominant deformation mechanisms.     

Role of Plastic Deformation on Elevated Temperature Tribological Behavior of an Al-Mg Alloy (AA5083): A Friction Mapping Approach

Friction maps have been developed to explain the behavior of aluminum alloys under dynamic tribological conditions generated by the simultaneous effects of temperature and strain rate. A specially designed tribometer was used to measure the coefficient of friction (COF) of AA5083 strips subjected to sliding with a simultaneous application of tensile strain in the temperature range of 693 K to 818 K (420 °C to 545 °C) and strain rates between 5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ and 4 × 10⁻² s⁻¹. The mechanisms of plastic deformation, namely, diffusional flow, grain boundary sliding (GBS), and solute drag (SD), and their operation ranges were identified. Relationships between the bulk deformation mechanism and COF were represented in a unified map by superimposing the regions of dominant deformation mechanisms on the COF map. The change in COF (from 1.0 at 693 K (420 °C) and 1 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ to 2.1 at 818 K (545 °C) and 4 × 10⁻² s⁻¹) was found to be largest in the temperature–strain rate region, where GBS was the dominant deformation mechanism, as a result of increased surface roughness. The role of bulk deformation mechanisms on the evolution of the surface oxide layer damage was also examined.     

A Constitutive Equation for Grain Boundary Sliding: An Experimental Approach

Although grain boundary sliding (GBS) has been recognized as an important process during high-temperature deformation in crystalline materials, there is paucity in experimental data for characterizing a constitutive equation for GBS. High-temperature tensile creep experiments were conducted, together with measurements of GBS at different strains, stresses, grain sizes, and temperatures. Experimental data obtained on a Mg AZ31 alloy demonstrate that, for the first time, dynamic recrystallization during creep does not alter the contribution of GBS to creep during high-temperature deformation. The experimentally observed invariance of the sliding contribution with strain was used together with the creep data for developing a constitutive equation for GBS in a manner similar to the standard creep equation. Using this new approach, it is demonstrated that the stress, grain size, and temperature dependence for creep and GBS are identical. This is rationalized by a model based on GBS controlled by dislocations, within grains or near-grain boundaries.     

Plastic and viscous deformation of metals

Deformation characteristics of tensile specimens of several alloys, including electrolytic copper, α-brass, and 304 stainless steel, have been studied by application of stress and measurement of change of length in a soft tensile machine. By means of experiments in which the stress rate is reduced suddenly from a positive value to zero and the strain rate measured, both during loading and during creep, it is found that permanent deformation consists of two components, a plastic component for which the strain rate is a function of stress and stress rate, and a viscous component which is functionally dependent on stress and temperature. Plastic deformation is relatively more evident at increasing stress rate but declines in importance through the series copper, a-brass, and stainless steel. As a consequence, for a fixed strain rate during loading, the initial creep rate is low in copper and little creep occurs; in stainless steel, however, the initial creep rate is nearly equal to the loading strain rate and creep is pronounced. The theory is not fully developed but is based on a competition between thermal and mechanical release of dislocation segments from obstacles or sources. Release produces a strain increment which may be small or large depending on the relative values of stress and structural resistance. Plastic deformation occurs when the applied stress is close to the mechanical threshold, mechanical release is relatively easy, and the strain consists, at a given strain rate, of a few large strain increments per unit time. For viscous flow the relative stress is low, thermal release easy, and the strain rate is composed of many small strain increments in each unit of time.     

High- temperature deformation properties of nial single crystals

The high-temperature deformation properties of stoichiometric NiAl single crystals have been studied in the temperature range from 850 °C and 1200 °C. We have established a basic data set for and have explored the high-temperature deformation characteristics of this intermetallic compound. The results provide a basis for determining the controlling mechanisms of high-temperature deformation. Constant stress tension creep and constant stress or constant strain rate compression experiments were conducted on crystals oriented with loading axes along the “hard,” [001] orientation, where no driving force exists for glide ofb = (001) dislocations, and along various “soft” orientations, [223], [111], and [110], where deformation can occur by the glide of these dislocations. In addition to these monotonie tests, high-temperature deformation transients were studied using stress relaxation, strain rate change, and stress change experiments. These transient deformation experiments were conducted in an effort to further elucidate the mechanisms that control high-temperature deformation of this material. The steady-state deformation properties of these differently oriented single crystals can be characterized by creep activation energies that all coincide, within experimental error, with the activation energy for diffusion of Ni in NiAl, 308 ± 10 kJ/mol. The stress dependence of steady-state deformation can be characterized with stress exponents that range from about 9 at 850 °C to about 4 at 1200 °C. At all temperatures and stresses, the soft oriented crystals creep about two orders of magnitude faster than the hard oriented crystals at the same stresses and temperatures. Soft oriented crystals loaded along [223] and [111] axes tested in both tension creep and constant stress or constant strain rate compression are found to deform at the steady-state rate from the very beginning of the deformation experiment. Crystals with these orientations exhibit virtually no evidence of strain hard-ening. Transients associated with stress changes suggest that deformation is limited primarily by the mobility of dislocations and not by dislocation interactions. These characteristics of deformation are consistent with the operation of easyb = (001) glide processes in these crystals. Crystals loaded along [110] exhibit small deformation transients which indicate both sluggish dislocation motion and some substructure formation. We speculate that cross-slip of dislocations from {110} to {010} planes is responsible for this effect. Deformation in hard oriented crystals provides evidence for both mo-bility and substructure controlled deformation. Creep in hard oriented crystals is characterized by a dramatic sigmoidal transient suggesting very low dislocation mobility. However, the strain hardening observed in monotonic tests and the transient responses suggest that deformation is also limited by a dislocation substructure that forms during deformation. These findings support the conclusion, explored fully in a forthcoming article, that creep deformation in the hard orientation is controlled by the motion and interaction ofb = (101) dislocations.     

Quantitative Measurements of Grain Boundary Sliding in an Ultrafine-Grained Al Alloy by Atomic Force Microscopy

In the current study, quantitative measurements for grain boundary sliding (GBS) in ultrafine-grained (UFG) 5083 Al by atomic force microscopy (AFM) were performed. An ion beam polishing and etching technique was used to reveal grain boundaries in the alloy for AFM characterization. A comparison between the average grain sizes measured from AFM images and those estimated from transmission electron microscopy micrographs and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) maps showed excellent agreement. The vertical offset of GBS was measured by comparing predeformation and postdeformation AFM images. By analyzing these measurements, the contribution of GBS to the total tensile strain in 5083 Al was estimated as 25 pct at a strain rate of 10⁻⁴ seconds⁻¹ and a temperature of 473 K (200 °C). It was demonstrated that the relatively low value of the contribution of GBS to the total strain is most likely the result of testing UFG 5083 Al under experimental conditions that favor the dominance of region I (low-stress region) of the sigmoidal behavior characterizing high-strain-rate superplasticity, which was reported previously for the alloy.     

Deformation mechanisms of a rapidly solidified Al-8.8Fe-3.7Ce alloy

The mechanisms of deformation of a rapidly solidified and compacted Al-8.8Fe-3.7Ce (wt pct) alloy were investigated in the stress range 20 to 115 MPa and temperature range 523 to 623 K. The stress dependence of the steady state strain rates indicated a transition from diffusional creep to power law creep, the transition stress decreasing with increasing temperature from 70 MPa (σ/G = 3.1 × 10^-3) at 523 K to 40 MPa (σ/G = 1.9 × 10^-3) at 623 K. The activation energy in the power law creep regime was close to that of bulk self-diffusion in aluminum, while the activation energy in the diffusional creep regime was close to that of grain boundary self-diffusion in Al. The creep strain rates in the power law creep regime were found to be predicted much better by the substructure-invariant creep law (Sherby, 1981) than by the semi-empirical Dorn equation for Al, with the inclusion of a “threshold” stress. In the Coble creep regime, it was found that the cell/subgrain boundaries are inefficient vacancy sources/sinks and that their contribution to Coble creep is totally suppressed in this alloy. The Coble creep rates could be explained by using the average diameter of the powder particles as the effective grain size in the Coble creep equation.     

可压缩纯钼粉末烧结材料的塑性变形行为及影响因素

基于单轴压缩实验,研究纯钼粉末烧结材料的塑性变形行为及其影响因素。结果表明:可压缩纯钼粉末烧结材料的塑性变形行为对初始相对密度、温度和应变速率的变化相当敏感,其流动应力随应变速率的增加而增加,随温度的升高而减小;高温条件下材料对应变速率不太敏感,但初始相对密度在低温状况下对流动应力的影响更甚;对压缩后试样的微观组织分析显示:初始平均粒径为44.0μm的粗大等轴晶组织经过约35%的单轴压缩后,其中心主变形区域得到平均粒径为1.45μm完全致密的超细晶组织;初始相对密度越大,材料屈服强度越低,出现破裂的时间越早;其硬度增加速率对温度变化不敏感,而提高温度则有利于降低屈服强度。     

Radiation effects on time-dependent deformation: Creep and growth

Observations of irradiation creep strain as well as irradiation growth strain and related microstructures are reviewed and compared to mechanisms for radiation effects on time-dependent deformation. Composition, microstructure, stress, and temperature affect irradiation creep less than thermal creep. Irradiation creep rates can often dominate thermal creep rates, particularly at low temperatures and low stresses. Irradiation creep mechanisms are classified in two general categories: (1) stress-induced preferential absorption and (2) climb glide. In the former, creep results from dislocation climb, whereas in the latter, creep results from dislocation glide. The effects of irradiation creep on failure modes in nuclear environments are discussed. This paper is based on a presentation made in the symposium “Irradiation-Enhanced Materials Science and Engineering” presented as part of the ASM INTERNATIONAL 75th Anniversary celebration at the 1988 World Materials Congress in Chicago, IL, September 2–29, 1988, under the auspices of the Nuclear Materials Committee of TMS-AIME and ASM-MSD.     

High-temperature deformation behavior of NiAl(Ti) solid-solution single crystals

The high-temperature deformation behavior of the solid solution-strengthened alloys Ni-47.5Al-2.5Ti and Ni-47Al-3Ti were investigated. Single crystals were deformed in compression in the “hard” 〈001〉 and “soft” 〈111〉 orientations, at temperatures between 827 °C and 1250 °C. The results show that Ti has a very powerful solute-strengthening effect in NiAl. The creep rates for the solid-solution alloys were observed to be as much as three to four orders of magnitude lower than those for unalloyed NiAl. To better understand this strong solid-solution strengthening effect, we studied the stress and temperature dependence of the creep rates for these alloys, as well as the deformation transients associated with stress changes. These results suggest that solute-drag effects dominate the creep resistance at the highest temperatures and lowest stresses. The solute-drag hypothesis is supported by calculations of the solute-size effect of Ti in NiAl and by the form of dislocation substructures found in the creep-deformed crystals. W.D. NIX is the Lee Otterson Professor of Engineering with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.     

Grain boundary sliding in the presence of grain boundary precipitates during transient creep

A constitutive rate equation for grain boundary sliding (GBS), in the presence of grain boundary precipitates, is developed. Langdon’s GBS model is modified by incorporating physically de-fined back stresses opposing dislocation glide and climb and by modifying the grain size de-pendence of creep rate. The rate equation accurately predicts the stress dependence of minimum creep rate and change in activation energy occurring as a result of changing the grain boundary precipitate distribution in complex Ni-base superalloys. The rate equation, along with the math-ematical formulations for internal stresses, is used to derive a transient creep model, where the transient is regarded as the combination of primary and secondary stages of creep in constant load creep tests. The transient creep model predicts that the transient creep strain is dependent on stress and independent of test temperature. It is predicted that a true steady-state creep will only be observed after an infinitely long time. However, tertiary creep mechanisms are expected to intervene and lead to an acceleration in creep rate long before the onset of a true steady state. The model accurately predicts the strain vs time relationships for transient creep in IN738LC Ni-base superalloy, containing different grain boundary carbide distributions, over a range of temperatures.     

Time-dependent deformation behavior of near-eutectic 60Sn-40Pb solder

The compressive creep and stress-strain behavior of the near-eutectic 60Sn-40Pb solder alloy has been investigated over the temperature range of −55 °C to 125 °C. The total primary creep strain is a strong function of stress and temperature: at lower temperatures and high applied stresses (i.e., near the power-law breakdown regime), it is quite large, while it is much smaller at higher temperatures and lower applied stresses. The compressive minimum creep rate as a function of stress and temperature is fit well by the Garofalo sinh equation. A discussion of the effective stress exponent, n _eff, in the context of the Garofalo sinh equation is presented to understand trends in the creep data. The values of n _eff, for the applied stress levels studied, are found to range from 3.09 to 5.00 at 125 °C, while they have a range of 10.75 to 15.79 at −55 °C. These trends are consistent with the interpretation of climb-dominated creep at higher temperatures and plasticity-dominated power law breakdown behavior at the lower temperatures. The microstructural observations suggest that, at elevated temperatures, deformation occurs by relative displacement of eutectic colonies in the solder microstructure accompanied by extensive grain coarsening in the colony boundaries. At lower temperatures (<0 °C), deformation occurs by cell displacement with very limited coarsening and, at high stresses, is dominated by plastic deformation. The application of the Garofalo sinh equation to other data sets for creep of eutectic Sn-Pb solder is also discussed.