Effect of Dislocation Density on the Dynamic Strength of Aluminium

Abstract

The effects of cold work on dynamic flow strength is studied through measurements of dislocation density and elastic precursor attenuation in shocked aluminium. High-purity aluminium and Al 6082 alloy samples are subjected to up to three passes of rotary swaging, a severe plastic deformation (SPD) technique, in order to produce large variations in starting material conditions. Detailed material characterisation is performed using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the initial dislocation density, texture, grain boundary density and misorientation distribution. Variations in dynamic strength are studied through the evolution of the elastic precursor amplitude with propagation distance in specimens with thicknesses between 0.2 and 1 mm, shock loaded to impact stresses of about 4.6 GPa. It is shown that dynamic strength decreases with increasing initial dislocation density in both materials, demonstrating rare, quantified measurements of a reversal in the effect of dislocation density on yield strength at strain rates around 104 s-1 and above.