B.X. Bie

Macrodeformation Twins in Single-Crystal Aluminum.

Deformation twinning in pure aluminum has been considered to be a unique property of nanostructured aluminum. A lingering mystery is whether deformation twinning occurs in coarse-grained or single-crystal aluminum at scales beyond nanotwins. Here, we present the first experimental demonstration of macrodeformation twins in single-crystal aluminum formed under an ultrahigh strain rate (∼10^{6}u2009u2009s^{-1}) and large shear strain (200%) via dynamic equal channel angular pressing. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the frustration of subsonic dislocation motion leads to transonic deformation twinning. Deformation twinning is rooted in the rate dependences of dislocation motion and twinning, which are coupled, complementary processes during severe plastic deformation under ultrahigh strain rates.

Note: Dynamic strain field mapping with synchrotron X-ray digital image correlation.

We present a dynamic strain field mapping method based on synchrotron X-ray digital image correlation (XDIC). Synchrotron X-ray sources are advantageous for imaging with exceptional spatial and temporal resolutions, and X-ray speckles can be produced either from surface roughness or internal inhomogeneities. Combining speckled X-ray imaging with DIC allows one to map strain fields with high resolutions. Based on experiments on void growth in Al and deformation of a granular material during Kolsky bar/gas gun loading at the Advanced Photon Source beamline 32ID, we demonstrate the feasibility of dynamic XDIC. XDIC is particularly useful for dynamic, in-volume, measurements on opaque materials under high strain-rate, large, deformation.

Note: Phase retrieval method for analyzing single-phase displacement interferometry data

We present a phase retrieval method (PRM) for analyzing single-phase displacement interferometry measurements on rapidly changing velocity histories, including photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV). PRM identifies the peaks and valleys as well as zero-crossing points in a PDV time series, performs normalization and extracts point-by-point phase and thus velocity information. PRM does not require a wide time window as in sliding window Fourier transformation, and thus improves the effective temporal resolution. This method is implemented in analyzing PDV data obtained from gas gun experiments, and validated against simultaneous measurements with velocity interferometer system for any reflector.

A metallography and x-ray tomography study of spall damage in ultrapure Al

We characterize spall damage in shock-recovered ultrapure Al with metallography and x-ray tomography. The measured damage profiles in ultrapure Al induced by planar impact at different shock strengths, can be described with a Gaussian function, and showed dependence on shock strengths. Optical metallography is reasonably accurate for damage profile measurements, and agrees within 10–25% with x-ray tomography. Full tomography analysis showed that void size distributions followed a power law with an exponent of γ = 1.5 ± 2.0, which is likely due to void nucleation and growth, and the exponent is considerably smaller than the predictions from percolation models.

Deformation and damage of sintered low-porosity aluminum under planar impact: microstructures and mechanisms

Plate impact experiments are conducted to study compaction and spallation of 5% porosity aluminum. Free surface velocity histories, the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL), and spall strengths are obtained at different peak stresses and pulse durations. Scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and X-ray computed tomography are used to characterize 2D and 3D microstructures. 3D void topology analyses yield rich information on size distribution, shape, orientation, and connectivity of voids. HEL decreases/increases with sample thickness/impact velocity and approaches saturation. Its tensile strength increases with increasing peak stress and shock-induced densification. With the enhanced compaction under increasing impact velocities, spall damage modes change from growth of original voids to inter-particle crack propagation and to “random” nucleation of new voids. Such a change in damage mechanism also gives rise to a distinct decrease in damage extent at high impact velocities. Compaction induces strain localizations around the original voids, while subsequent tension results in grain refinement, and shear deformation zones between staggered cracks.