Papers by Author: Pierre Barbéris

Abstract: The elastic energy of a set of the twelve variants generated during the b ® a transformation of zirconium, with volume fractions fi, i=1..12, is derived with simplifying assumptions and the conditions on the fi to reach the energy minimum are established analytically. The minimum number of variants needed to reach this minimum is shown to be 6, and in this case, the variants have very specific volume fractions. Another result is that the maximum volume fraction of any variant is 1/3.

Abstract: Compression tests were used to simulate simple deformation paths within the upper a-range of Zircaloy-4 (i.e. 500°C-750°C). The mechanical behaviour reveals two different domains : at low temperatures and large strain rates, strain hardening takes place before flow softening, whereas this first stage disappears at lower flow stress levels. Strain rate sensitivity and activation energy were determined for both domains. Dynamic recrystallization was investigated using the Electron BackScattering Diffraction (EBSD) technique. It appears that the mechanism involved here is continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), based on the increasing misorientation of subgrain boundaries and their progressive transformation into large angle boundaries. At low strains (e £ 0.3), CDRX kinetics are similar whatever the deformation conditions, while higher temperatures and lower strain rates promote recrystallization at large strains.

Abstract: The microstructure and crystallographic texture in zirconium (Zr702) sheets, initially deformed by 80% cold rolling, are investigated at different stages of the primary recrystallization. Inhomogeneities were observed in the deformed microstructure at different scales down to the submicrometer range. The influence of these inhomogeneities on the local recrystallization mechanisms is discussed. The measurement of the orientation of the new grains shows that the nucleation is definitely not oriented. Since the global texture change is very slight, recrystallization by subgrain growth is probably one of the most important mechanism during the recrystallization process in zirconium.

Abstract: Primary recrystallization of a 80% cold–rolled T40 or Zr702 sheets leads to equiaxed microstructures. Subsequently, only normal grain growth takes place in T40 while a few grains can grow abnormally after sufficient time at high annealing temperature (close to the transus) in Zr702. The grain sizes reached after extended grain growth at moderate temperatures in Zr702 are smaller than in T40. The presence of precipitates in Zr702 is probably responsible for this and also for the abnormal phenomena observed at high temperature in this material. The texture changes occurring in both materials under normal grain growth conditions (often roughly described as “30° rotation around c axes”) are due to the development of the largest grains produced by the primary recrystallization. These large grains are preferentially oriented around {j1=0°, F=30°, j2=30°} for T40 and around {j1=0°, F=25°, j2=30°} for Zr702, orientations which become predominant after extended grain growth.