Chapter7Con,nued

Disloca+onsandStrengtheningMechanisms
Theroleofdisloca+onsinplas+cdeforma+on
Strengtheningmechanismsinmaterials

Plastic deformation, revisited (again)

Z
Plastically deformed
(no load): Atomic
planes remain slipped

Y
Elastic and plastic
deformation: Bonds
stretched and atomic
planes slip

X
Elastic deformation:
Atomic bonds stretched

A
Undeformed (no load)

When stress is
applied to induce
plastic
deformation,
atomic planes slip
Atomic planes slip
via the movement
of dislocations
2

Major slip systems

BCC: 12 slip systems, 6 unique planes, 2 directions per plane

FCC: 12 slip systems, 4 unique planes, 3 directions per plane

HCP: 3 slip systems, 1 unique plane, 3 directions

Comparison of FCC, BCC, and HCP

slip systems
FCC and BCC both have 12 major slip
systems, while HCP only has 3
Dislocations move via slip systems and
dislocation movement is the mechanism of
plastic deformation
Therefore, HCP materials are less likely to
plastically deform. i.e. HCP materials are
typically brittle

Atomic slipping via dislocation

motion
Plastic deformation occurs via
the slipping of atomic planes
which is enabled by the
movement of dislocations
The dislocation motion
mechanism of slip occurs in
the presence of shear force
How do dislocations move
during a tensile test when the
applied load is axial?

Dislocation motion in a tension test

Shear force IS present
in a sample in pure
tension, consider a free
body diagram of a
volume element of the
tensile sample
F is the applied axial
force
A is the top area of
the volume element
The stress state of this
volume element is
simply =F/A for the
plane of A

Dislocation motion in a tension test

We will section our volume
element to determine the
stress state of an arbitrary
plane at from F
Note as we proceed that the
stress state becomes more
complex
(please review section 6.2)

Dislocation motion in a tension test

From geometry, we can find
the resulting forces acting on
our plane
The normal force on the plane
is (F cos ) and the shear
force on the plane is (F sin )
The area of the plane is (A/
cos )

Solving for the shear stress:

= Fshear
=

Aplane

= F sin

( A cos )

F
sin cos = sin cos
A

Dislocation motion in a tension test

From geometry, we can find
the resulting forces acting on
our plane
The normal force on the plane
is (F cos ) and the shear
force on the plane is (F sin )
The area of the plane is
(A/cos )

Solving for the shear stress:

= Fshear
=

Aplane

= F sin

( A cos )

F
sin cos = sin cos
A

Maximum value of shear stress

occurs for plane oriented at 45
(1/2)

Dislocation motion in a tension test

Maximum shear
stress at 45 to
applied tensile force
For single crystals,
slip will occur on the
slip plane closest to
45

Dislocation motion in a tension test

Maximum shear stress
at 45 to applied tensile
force
For polycrystals, slip will
occur within each grain
on the slip plane closest
to 45
The slip path averaged
across all of the grains
will be 45

Dislocation motion in a tension test

These rings of slip
steps on the surface
of the material are
visible in the SEM
video of the single
crystal wire in tension

(Show movie here.)

Another mechanism for plastic

deformation: twinning
With some materials, the
formation of twin
boundaries allows plastic
deformation
NiTi shape memory
alloy is an example
The amount of
deformation by twinning is
small
Twinning can reorient
crystal grains in a direction
more favorable to slip
A possible deformation
pathway if slip is restricted
(eg, low temps)

Comparison: Slip versus

Twinning

Strengthening mechanisms
Since plastic deformation (yielding) occurs by
the movement of dislocations, it is possible to
strengthen a material (increase yield stress) by
preventing the motion of dislocations
Dislocation motion may be restricted by:
Impurity atoms
Increased dislocation density (strain hardening)
Grain boundaries

Strengthening by impurity atoms

Metals may be strengthened with adding
impurities, both substitutional and interstitial.
Example shown is for Nickel in Copper. Both yield
and tensile strength are increased

Strengthening by impurity atoms

Strengthening
mechanism
Impurity atoms can
reduce lattice strain
around a dislocation
due to the atomic
size difference
The decreased
lattice strain leads
to the dislocation
being pinned
Energy lowering configurations!

Strengthening by strain hardening

A ductile metal becomes
stronger (increased yield
strength) as it is plastically
deformed: Strain hardening
This is seen in the stress-strain
curve after elastic recovery

The increased strength is a

result of decreased
dislocation mobility caused by
increased density of
dislocations
How does the dislocation
density increase?
Why does this restrict
dislocation mobility

Strengthening by strain hardening

One mechanism for multiplication of dislocations: FrankRead source
Consider a dislocation where B and C are pinned, but B-C is mobile
Dislocation loops will be generated with applied shear stress, but
not indefinitely. The dislocation loops will eventually encounter
obstacles, inducing lattice strain and preventing generation of more
dislocations
http://lem.onera.fr/DisGallery/source.html

http://lem.onera.fr/DisGallery/source.html

Strengthening by strain hardening

Increased dislocation
density results in
decreased dislocation
mobility due to
repulsive force
between dislocations
Consider the lattice
strain of an edge
dislocation
Two dislocations may
attract each other and
combine or they may
repel each other

Strengthening by strain hardening

Two dislocations may
attract each other and
combine or they may
repel each other
Dislocation combination
does NOT always lead
to annhilation
Dislocations may
combine into a new
dislocation that is
locked from motion
A locked dislocation
will prevent motion of
other dislocations

Strengthening by strain hardening

One mechanism for dislocation lock
Consider two dislocations b1 and b2 in FCC

b1

b2

b1 and b2 are moving

on {111}

Strengthening by strain hardening

An applied shear stress would lead b1 and b2 to combine
at the intersection of their slip planes, creating b3, which is
in the (001) plane. This leads to a lock of the dislocation
in a non-slip plane.

b3 is not on a slip plane

b1
b3
b2

Strengthening by strain hardening

Extensive strain hardening results in a
forest of dislocations
http://lem.onera.fr/DisGallery/forest.html

Dislocation density of materials

Annealed single crystals: 103-104
Annealed polycrystalline material: 105-106
Significantly strain hardened: 109-1010

Strengthening by strain hardening

Quantifying strain hardening
Strain hardening is also referred to as coldworking
Strain hardening is typically measured by
percent cold work
%CW=(A0-Ad)/A0 X 100
A0 is original area
Ad is deformed area

Strengthening by grain boundaries

Materials may also
be strengthened by
the presence of grain
boundaries
Grain boundaries
resist the intergranular
movement of
dislocations
Example shown is a
Cu-Zn alloy (brass)

Strengthening by grain boundaries

In a single crystal grain, a dislocation moves on the slip
plane with the highest shear stress
At a grain boundary, atomic planes between adjacent
grains are angularly misaligned
When the dislocation encounters the grain boundary, the
misaligned planes hinder the movement of the
dislocation

Strengthening by grain boundaries

Two mechanisms hinder the dislocation motion
The slip planes may be discontinuous (offset) between the two grains
The slip planes will be in different orientations, causing the dislocation to
change direction

For high angular misalignments, the dislocation may not traverse the
grain boundary. Instead, the dislocation density increases at the grain
boundary and the resulting lattice stress creates new dislocations across
the boundary

Strengthening by grain boundaries

Small grain materials have more grain boundary
area than large grain materials. Therefore, small
grain materials resist dislocation motion more
than large grain materials and have a higher
yield strength.
The relationship between yield strength and
grain size may be estimated by the Hall-Petch
equation:
Y= 0 + kyd-1/2

where 0 and ky are material specific constants

this relationship is not intended for grains <1 m or >1 mm

Annealing and plastic deformation

Strain hardening
creates internal lattice stress/strain from
movement and generation of dislocations
restructures crystal grains by atomic slip

By annealing (heat treatment), the strain

hardening effects can be reversed.