Through the combination of transmission electron microscopy analysis of the deformed microstructure and molecular dynamics computer simulations of the deformation processes, the mechanisms of plastic strain recovery in bulk AgCu eutectic with either incoherent twin or cube-on-cube interfaces between the Ag and Cu layers and a bilayer thickness of 500 nm have been revealed. The character of the incoherent twin interfaces changed uniquely after dynamic compressive loading for samples that exhibited plastic strain recovery and was found to drive the recovery, which is due to dislocation retraction and rearrangement of the interfaces. The magnitude of the recovery decreased with increasing strain as dislocation tangles and dislocation cell structures formed. No change in the orientation relationship was found at cube-on-cube interfaces and these exhibited a lesser amount of plastic strain recovery in the simulations and none experimentally in samples with larger layer thicknesses with predominantly cube-on-cube interfaces. Molecular dynamics computer simulations verified the importance of the change in the incoherent twin interface structure as the driving force for dislocation annihilation at the interfaces and the plastic strain recovery.
Influence of Manganese Content on Plastic Deformation Mechanisms in Polycrystalline α-Ti-Mn Alloys
Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials（核与其他矿物原材料技术研究所）；National Centre for Nuclear Research, NOMATEN CoE（国家核研究中心，NOMATEN卓越中心）
A combination of high strength and reasonable ductility has been achieved in a copper-1.7 at.%titanium alloy deformed by high-pressure torsion. Grain refinement and a spinodal microstructure provided a hardness of 254 +/- 2 HV , yield strength of 800 MPa and elongation of 10%. The spinodal structure persisted during isothermal ageing, further increasing the yield strength to 890MPa while retaining an elongation of 7%. This work demonstrates the potential for spinodal microstructures to overcome the difficulties in retaining ductility in ultra-fine grained or nanocrystalline alloys, especially …
The processing of binary alloys consisting of ferromagnetic Fe and antiferromagnetic Cr by severe plastic deformation (SPD) with different chemical compositions has been investigated. Although the phase diagram exhibits a large gap in the thermodynamical equilibrium at lower temperatures, it is shown that techniques based on SPD help to overcome common processing limits. Different processing routes including initial ball milling (BM) and arc melting (AM) and a concatenation with annealing treatments prior to high-pressure torsion (HPT) deformation are compared in this work. Investigation of th…
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are solid solutions of multiple elements with equal atomic ratios which present an innovative pathway for de novo alloy engineering. While there exist extensive studies to ascertain the important structural aspects governing their mechanical behaviors, elucidating the underlying deformation mechanisms still remains a challenge. Using atomistic simulations, we probe the particle rearrangements in a yielding, model HEA system to understand the structural origin of its plasticity. We find the plastic deformation is initiated by irreversible topological fluctuations whic…
Effect of severe plastic deformation realized by rotary swaging on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of near-a-titanium alloy Ti-2.5Al-2.6Zr
The mechanical behaviour of Mg-Al alloys can be largely improved by the formation of an intermetallic Laves phase skeleton, in particular the creep strength. Recent nanomechanical studies revealed plasticity by dislocation glide in the (Mg,Al)$_2$Ca Laves phase, even at room temperature. As strengthening skeleton, this phase remains, however, brittle at low temperature. In this work, we present experimental evidence of slip transfer from the Mg matrix to the (Mg,Al)$_2$Ca skeleton at room temperature and explore associated mechanisms by means of atomistic simulations. We identify two possible …
Superfunctional materials are defined as materials with specific properties being superior to the functions of engineering materials. Numerous studies introduced severe plastic deformation (SPD) as an effective process to improve the functional and mechanical properties of various metallic and non-metallic materials. Moreover, the concept of ultra-SPD - introducing shear strains over 1000 to reduce the thickness of sheared phases to levels comparable to atomic distances - was recently utilized to synthesize novel superfunctional materials. In this article, the application of ultra-SPD for cont…
Many engineering applications of Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) involve passing back and forth through phase transformation many times. Repeated phase transformation develops permanent deformations originating from the significant distortion that phase transformation induces at the austenite-martensite interfaces and grain boundaries. This distortion drives dislocation activity resulting in an observable macroscopic Transformation-Induced Plastic (TRIP) deformation, which occurs at effective stress levels much lower than the plastic yield limit of the material. TRIP strains may accumulate up to 20…
Digital image correlation (DIC) and crystal plasticity simulation were utilised to study cold dwell behaviour in a coarse grain Ti-6Al alloy at 3 different temperatures up to 230 C. Strains extracted from large volume grains were measured during creep by DIC and were used to calibrate the crystal plasticity model. The values of critical resolved shear stresses (CRSS) of the two main slip systems (basal and prismatic) were determined as a function of temperature. Stress along paths across the boundaries of two grain pairs, (1) a `rogue' grain pair and (2) a `non-rogue' grain pair, were determin…
In this paper, we investigate plasticity in irradiated FeCrAl nanopillars using discrete dislocation dynamics simulations (DDD), with comparisons to transmission electron microscopic (TEM) in situ tensile tests of ion and neutron irradiated commercial FeCrAl alloy C35M. The effects of irradiation-induced defects, such as a/2 111 and a 100 type loops and composition fluctuations representative of phase separation in irradiated FeCrAl alloys, are investigated separately as well as superposed together in simulations. We explore the effects of defects on the stress-strain behavior, specifically yi…
This work presents a three-dimensional constitutive model for shape memory alloys considering the TRansformation-Induced Plasticity (TRIP) as well as the Two-Way Shape Memory Effect (TWSME) through a large deformation framework. The presented logarithmic strain based model is able to capture the large strains and rotations exhibited by SMAs under general thermomechanical cycling. By using the martensitic volume fraction, transformation strain, internal stress, and TRIP strain tensors as internal state variables, the model is capable to capture the stress-dependent TRIP generation when SMAs are…
Nanoindentation induced plasticity in equiatomic MoTaW alloys by experimentally guided machine learning molecular dynamics simulations
National Centre for Nuclear Research, NOMATEN CoE（国家核研究中心，NOMATEN卓越中心）；Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials（核及其他矿物原料技术研究所）
Influences of Granular Constraints and Surface Effects on the Heterogeneity of Elastic, Superelastic, and Plastic Responses of Polycrystalline Shape Memory Alloys
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been intensively investigated as actuators for the past several decades. Due to their high actuation energy density compared to other active materials, their current and potential applications in engineering fields are expanding rapidly. Prior to being used as actuators, SMAs are usually subjected to a training process to stabilize their behavior. During the training process, permanent changes are introduced in the microstructure of the material which results in the generation of internal stresses and a large amount of irrecoverable Transformation Induced Plasti…
Ductile metals undergo a considerable amount of plastic deformation before failure. Void nucleation, growth and coalescence is the mechanism of failure in such metals. α/β titanium alloys are ductile in nature and are widely used for their unique set of properties like specific strength, fracture toughness, corrosion resistance and resistance to fatigue failures. Voids in these alloys were reported to nucleate on the phase boundaries between α and β phase. Based on the findings of crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) based investigation of the void growth at the interface of α and …
Linear complexions are defect phases that form in the presence of dislocations and thus are promising for the direct control of plasticity. In this study, atomistic simulations are used to model the effect of linear complexions on dislocation-based mechanisms for plasticity, demonstrating unique behaviors that differ from classical dislocation glide mechanisms. Linear complexions impart higher resistance to the initiation and continuation of dislocation motion when compared to solid solution strengthening in all of the face-centered cubic alloys investigated here, with the exact strengthening …
Predicting the structural response of advanced multiphase alloys and understanding the underlying microscopic mechanisms that are responsible for it are two critically important roles modeling plays in alloy development. An alloys demonstration of superior properties, such as high strength, creep resistance, high ductility, and fracture toughness, is not sufficient to secure its use in widespread application. Still, a good model is needed, to take measurable alloy properties, such as microstructure and chemical composition, and forecast how the alloy will perform in specified mechanical deform…
University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室）；Sandia National Laboratories（桑迪亚国家实验室）；Johns Hopkins University（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学）
We have carried out plastic deformation experiments on single-phase samples of the body centered ZrNbTiVHf high-entropy alloy between room temperature and 1150 K. The experiments were carried out on polycrystalline samples with two different grain sizes, in compression at a true constant strain rate of 10-4 1/s. Incremental tests such as stress-relaxation tests, strain-rate changes and temperature changes were carried out in order to determine thermodynamic activation parameters of the plastic deformation process. The material displays a yield-stress anomaly in the temperature range between ab…
A numerical strategy to simulate plastic deformation in Mg alloys including dislocation slip and twin propagation is presented. Dislocation slip is included through a crystal plasticity model which is solved using the finite element method while twin propagation is taken into account by means of a phase field model which is solved using a fast Fourier transform algorithm. The coupled crystal plasticity and phase field equations were solved using different discretizations of the simulation domain using the same time step for both of them. The numerical strategy was used to simulate the deformat…
Microstructural and Mechanistic Insights into the Tension-Compression Asymmetry of Rapidly Solidified Fe-Cr Alloys: A Phase Field and Strain Gradient Plasticity Study
The plastic deformation of metal alloys localizes in the Portevin--Le Chatelier effect in bands of different types, including propagating, or type 'A' bands, usually characterised by their width and a typical propagation velocity. This plastic instability arises from collective dynamics of dislocations interacting with mobile solute atoms but the resulting sensitivity to the strain-rate lacks fundamental understanding. Here we show, by employing high-resolution imaging in tensile deformation experiments of an aluminum alloy, that the band velocities exhibit large fluctuations. Each band produc…
This work gives insights into processing and characterisation of bulk nanocrystalline FeCr materials. The investigated FeCr alloys, consisting of 30, 50 and 70 at.% ferromagnetic Fe and remaining anti-ferromagnetic Cr, are processed by arc melting and subsequent severe plastic deformation by high pressure torsion. The physical similarities between elemental Fe and Cr in combination with the nanocrystalline structure of the as-deformed alloys, necessitates advanced characterisation techniques for the as-deformed state: In-situ annealing synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements as well as elec…
Coupled plastic strain- and stress-induced phase transformations and microstructure evolution in Fe-7%Mn alloy in a dynamic rotational diamond anvil cell
Iowa State University（爱荷华州立大学）；Argonne National Laboratory（阿贡国家实验室）；DAC Tools, LLC（DAC工具有限责任公司）；DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory（DEVCOM陆军研究实验室）
The article focuses on the effect of alloying and microstructure on formability of advanced high strength steels (AHSSs) processed via quenching and partitioning (Q&P). Three different Q&P steels with different combination of alloying elements and volume fraction of retained austenite are subjected to uniaxial tensile and Nakajima testing. Tensile mechanical properties are determined, and the forming limit diagrams (FLDs) are plotted. Microstructure of the tested samples is analyzed, and dramatic reduction of retained austenite fraction is detected. It is demonstrated that all steels are able …
The effect of Ca and Zn in solid solution on the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) of <a> basal slip, tensile twinning and <c+a> pyramidal slip in Mg alloys has been measured through compression tests on single crystal micropillars with different orientations. The solute atoms increased the CRSS for basal slip to ~ 13.5 MPa, while the CRSS for pyramidal slip was lower than 85 MPa, reducing significantly the plastic anisotropy in comparison with pure Mg. Moreover, the CRSSs for twin nucleation and growth were very similar (~ 37 MPa) and the large value of the CRSS for twin growth hindered t…
Rapid solidification leads to unique microstructural features, where a less studied topic is the formation of various crystalline defects, including high dislocation densities, as well as gradients and splitting of the crystalline orientation. As these defects critically affect the material's mechanical properties and performance features, it is important to understand the defect formation mechanisms, and how they depend on the solidification conditions and alloying. To illuminate the formation mechanisms of the rapid solidification induced crystalline defects, we conduct a multiscale modeling…
The deformation mechanisms of an extruded Mg-5Y-0.08Ca (wt. %) alloy were analyzed by means of micropillar compression tests on single crystals along different orientations -- selected to activate specific deformation modes -- as well as slip trace analysis, transmission electron microscopy and transmission Kikuchi diffraction. The polycrystalline alloy presented a remarkable ductility in tension (~32%) and negligible differences in the yield strength between tension and compression. It was found that the presence of Y and Ca in solid solution led to a huge increase in the CRSS for <a> basal s…
Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to provide a detailed understanding of the functional degradation of shape memory alloys at small scale. The origin of the experimentally reported accumulation of plastic deformation and the anomalous sudden increase of the residual strain under cyclic mechanical loading are explained by detailed insights into the relevant atomic scale processes. Our work reveals that the mechanical response of shape-memory-alloy pillars under cyclic compression is significantly influenced by the presence of an amorphous-like surface region as experimentally induced…
