Papers by Keyword: Deformation Twinning

Abstract: Measurements of strain rate sensitivity (SRS) provide a key link between dislocation-based interpretations of plastic deformation and macroscopic measurements made in mechanical tests. It is well known that plastic deformation of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals is achieved not only by dislocation glide but also by twinning and that the atomic rearrangement underlying the latter mode is different from that of slip. This leads to an expectation that co-activation of twinning may affect SRS of hcp metals. This assumption was tested in the present work where strain rate jump tests in both tension and compression were conducted on highly textured AZ31 plate. It was found that the SRS of the alloy in tension decreased with strain whereas that in compression increased with strain, exhibiting negative values at low strain and positive values at higher strain. Microstructure analyses revealed that the strain regimes where negative SRS or decreasing trend in SRS with strain was observed correspond to extensive twinning, implying a negative SRS of twinning. It is concluded that dislocation model alone cannot explain the strain rate dependence of flow stress in metals whose deformation is assisted by twinning.

Abstract: In the present work in situ neutron diffraction and acoustic emission were used concurrently to study deformation twinning in two ZM20 Mg alloys with significantly different grain sizes at room temperature. The combination of these techniques allows differentionation between the twin nucleation and the twin growth mechanisms. It is shown, that yielding and immediate post-yielding plasticity in compression is governed primarily by twin nucleation, whereas the plasticity at higher strains is governed by twin growth. The current results further suggest that yielding by twinning happens in a slightly different manner in the fine-grained as compared to the coarse-grained alloy.

Abstract: Charpy V-Notch impact tests of N1, N2 and N3 steels from 77K to 293K are possessed in this paper. With increasing the nitrogen concentration, the ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) increases. The toughness of the tested steels decreases rapidly with decreasing the temperature. The change of fracture patterns of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels is dimple → shallow dimple → mixture of quasi-cleavage facet and dimple → cleavage facet. Fracture facets with river patterns, with tear ridges, along annealing twin boundary and cross the annealing twin plane are observed in this investigation. Critical dislocation density of crack tips ρc=[6π(τp)2/(KIc)2]2 can affect ductile to brittle transition (DBT) behavior at cryogenic temperature. Deformation twinning is also frequently observed at cryogenic temperature. Crack forms along the coherent twin boundary between one twin and the matrix.

Abstract: The deformation mechanisms of various kinds of single crystals and bicrystals during the process of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) have been paid more attention world wide. This paper reviews the recent progresses in the understanding of the deformation mechanisms of single crystals and bicrystals subjected to one-pass ECAP, and discusses the effect of initial crystallographic orientation and grain boundary on the microstructural evolution of these crystals. Based on those experimental results and analysis, it is suggested that in addition to the shear deformation along the intersection plane (IP) of ECAP die, the shear along the normal of IP also plays an important role in affecting the microstructural evolution and deformation mechanisms of these single crystals and bicrystals.

Abstract: Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, we have investigated the mechanical properties and the microstructural evolution of nanocrystalline tantalum (NC-Ta, grain size from 3.25 nm to ~13.0 nm) under uniaxial tension. The results show the flow stress at a given offset strain decreases as the grain size is decreased within the grain size regime studied, implying an inverse Hall-Petch effect. A strain rate sensitivity of ~0.14, more than triple that of coarse-grain Ta, is derived from the simulation results. Twinning is regarded to be a secondary deformation mechanism based on the simulations. Similar to nanocrystalline iron, stress-induced phase transitions from body-centered cubic (BCC) to face-centered cubic (FCC) and hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structures take place locally during the deformation process, The maximum fraction of FCC atoms varies linearly with the tensile strength. We can thus conclude that a critical stress exists for the phase transition to occur. It is also observed that the higher the imposed strain rate, the further delayed is the phase transition. Such phase transitions are found to occur only at relatively low simulation temperatures, and are reversible with respect to stress.

Abstract: Uniaxial compression tests on hot-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy were carried out at a temperature of 300°C. In order to investigate work hardening and texture evolution during plastic deformation, cylindrical specimens were compressed to the rolling direction. Experimental investigation reveals that flow curves are strongly dependent on microstructure evolution such as deformation twinning and softening phenomenon. The occurrence of deformation twinning and softening phenomenon was revealed by the observation of microtexture using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). A visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal model was used to simulate the work hardening, softening and texture evolution during the uniaxial compression. In order to calculate orientation of deformation twins, predominant twin reorientation (PTR) scheme was implemented into the polycrystal model. A softening scheme was also implemented in the polycrystal model to predict softening phenomenon and texture evolution after a peak stress.

Abstract: In polycrystalline materials grain boundaries provide an important contribution to the resistance to the propagation of both brittle and ductile cracks. In this paper we describe experimental measurements of brittle cracks developed within both small punch and matchstick test specimens of polycrystalline hcp zinc. These specimens were tested over the temperature range 77 to 423K. Fractography undertaken using focussed ion beam imaging provides detail of the propagation from grain to grain and across {10-12} twins of (0001) basal and {10-10} prismatic cleavage cracks. The results are discussed by comparison with the predictions from previously described 3-D geometric modelling applied to this hcp polycrystalline material.

Abstract: Uniaxial compression tests on hot-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy were carried out at 200°C. In order to investigate the evolution of texture during plastic deformation, cylindrical specimens were compressed to the rolling and normal directions. Experimental investigation reveals that work hardening and texture evolution are strongly dependent on the loading direction. The occurrence of deformation twinning was revealed by the observation of microtexture using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). A visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal model was used to simulate the texture evolution during the uniaxial compression. The texture evolution induced by crystallographic slip and deformation twinning can be explained by the relative activity of each deformation modes.

Abstract: Deformation twins have been oberved in nanocrystalline (NC) Al synthsized by cryogenic ball-milling and in NC Cu processed by high-pressure torsion under room temperature and at a very low strain rate. They were found formed by partial dislocations emitted from grain boundaries. This paper first reviews experimental evidences on deformation twinning and partial dislocation emissions from grain boundaries, and then discusses recent analytical models on the nucleation and growth of deformation twins. These models are compared with experimental results to establish their validity and limitations.