D. Caldemaison

Experimental characterization of the local strain field in a heterogeneous elastoplastic material

A new technique, which allows to characterize the local strain field over a domain representative of the microstructure of a heterogeneous material, is described. It is based on scanning electron microscopy, microelectrolithography, image analysis and in situ tensile tests. The in-plane components of the local strain field are characterized by their averages per phase and their distribution functions. The results are accurate for global strains between 5 and 15%. It is also possible to get contour plots of these components of the local strain field over the considered domain. The obtained strain maps give a powerful qualitative information on the strain localization modes during the deformation. This technique has basically been developed for two-phase elastoplastic materials, namely iron/silver and iron/copper blends, submitted to uniaxial tensile tests; it could also be used for polycrystals or other composite materials and for other mechanical tests.

Plastic deformation mechanisms of β treated zirconium

This study aims to determine the different deformation mechanisms of grade 702 zirconium under uniaxial tension and at room temperature. The grade 702 zirconium tested had undergone an {alpha} {yields} {beta} {yields} {alpha} cycle at a slow cooling rate ({approximately} 15{degree} s{sup {minus}1}). Three deformation mechanisms were identified: prismatic slip, (10{bar 1}2) twinning and (11{bar 2}1) twinning. The critical resolved shear stress for prismatic slip, (10{bar 1}2) twinning and (11{bar 2}1) twinning was also determined. The effect of the non-uniform redistribution of the hardening elements on location through the grain of the various mechanisms and on the tendency for localized deformation to develop is also discussed.

Cavity growth and rupture of β-treated zirconium: A crystallographic model

Abstract This study aims to understand the damage mechanisms observed in β-treated zirconium. Damage voids are characterized by a tubular morphology with hexagonal cross-section; their growth kinetics is determined experimentally. From these observations, a model based on the principle of creation of free surface by crystallographic slip permits one to explain the stability of the hexagonal shape and to predict a growth rate closer to the experimental value than traditional models. This improvement is due to the sensitivity of the free surface creation mechanism to the stress concentration factor k , which can not be accounted for in models based on continuum mechanics.

Low cycle fatigue behaviour of β treated zirconium : Partial irreversibility of twinning and consequences for damage

Abstract The aim of this study is to understand the low cycle fatigue behaviour of β treated zirconium. It focuses especially on the contribution of twinning mechanisms. In situ fatigue tests performed inside a scanning electron microscope allow the observation of the activation of twins and their partial reversibility, depending on the applied stress. Moreover, the acoustic signature (shape factor) of the different twinning systems has been characterized allowing the following of inception and evolution of twins during the fatigue tests. Finally, the consequence of such a partial irreversibility on damage and crack localization is shown.

White Beam Microdiffraction Experiments for the Determination of the Local Plastic Behaviour of Polycrystals

The overall plastic behavior of polycrystalline materials strongly depends on the microstructure and on the local rheology of individual grains. The characterization of the strain and stress heterogeneities within the specimen, which result from the intergranular mechanical interactions, is of particular interest since they largely control the microstructure evolutions such as texture development, work-hardening, damage, recrystallization, etc. The influence of microstructure on the effective behavior can be addressed by physical-based predictive models (homogenization schemes) based either on full-field or on mean-field approaches. But these models require the knowledge of the grain behavior, which in turn must be determined on the real specimen under investigation. The microextensometry technique allows the determination of the surface total (i.e. plastic + elastic) strain field with a micrometric spatial resolution. On the other hand, the white beam X-ray microdiffraction technique developed recently at the Advanced Light Source enables the determination of the elastic strain with the same spatial resolution. For polycrystalline materials with grain size of about 10 micrometers, a complete intragranular mechanical characterization can thus be performed by coupling these two techniques. The very first results obtained on plastically deformed copper and zirconium specimens are presented.

Microstrain Analysis of Titanium Aluminides

The aeronautic and automotive industries have shown a renewed interest in TiAl based alloys. The main reasons for such an interest are their low density (~3,8g/cm3), a good stiffness and a high strength for temperatures up to 750°C. However, these alloys exhibit, in their polycrystalline form, a poor ductility at room temperature with widely scattered values. The aim of this study is therefore to characterise their mechanical behaviour with a multiscale methodology, coupling microstructure analysis and strain field measurements. This methodology employs orientation imaging microscopy as well as digital imaging correlation techniques with an intragranular step size of a few micrometers. Two chemical compositions (47 at. % Al and 48 at. % Al) and two processing routes (casting and powder metallurgy) are studied. Thus, four different types of final microstructures are considered, from fully lamellar Ti3Al (a2) + TiAl (g) microstructure to bimodal ones composed of two-phase (a2+g) lamellar grains and monolithic g grains. Firstly, the microstructure is characterised crystallographically and morphologically. This allows the identification of a representative volume element (RVE) inside the analysed volume. Then, uniaxial mechanical tests are performed for each microstructure, and the strain fields are analysed with a multiscale approach, which determines the spatial distribution of the strain field heterogeneity with respect to the different microstructures.