a t u r e s .

A l u m i n u m Research Laboratories R e p o r t 9-47-5 ( J u n e ,

References 1947 1.
:P . S . J o n e s a n d W. J . Worley: A n E x p e r i m e n t a l S t u d y of t h e
1 H. R. P r i t c h a r d : Correlation of L i t e r a t u r e on t h e Effect of Test-
Influence of Various F a c t o r s o n t h e Mode of F r a c t u r e of Metals.
j,,p Temperature on the Mechanical Properties of w r o u g h t M ~ ~ - 119481 " p. 643'
nesium B a s e Alloys. p r o j e c t TB4-202A. P i t m a n - D u n n L a b o r a t o r ~ e s , + E. J. Ripling a n d W. M. ' ~ a l d w i n ,J r . : Rheotropic Brittleness:
F r a n k f o r d Arsenal. Philadelphia. G e n e r a l Behaviors. Proceedings ASTM 119511 61, P. 1023.
2 E , J. R i p l i n g : Subzero Properties of Metals Surveyed, Age :I E. J . Ripling: Tensile P r o p e r t i e s a n d Rheotropic Behavior of
I19501 l(i(5, No. 16 p. 76. No. 17 p. 53. T i t a n i u m Alloys a n d Molybdenum. WADC Report 55-5, Contract No.
G. Sachs J , D, iubahh and L', J , Ebert: Notch Bar Tensile Test AF33'6161-2223 iFebruary
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Heat ~rereated Low Alloy Sheets. Trans. ASM I " F. F . W i t t m a n a n d V. A. S t e p a n o v : Influence of Deformation
119441 33, p. 340. Speed on Cold E m b r i t t l e m e n t of Steel. J o u r n a l of Techllical P l l z ~ s i c ~
, J, L, Haughton and W, E, Prytherch: Magnesiu,n and Its Allo?ls, USSR 119391 !), p . 1070.
(1938) New York. Chemical P u b . Co. 1) J N. Greenwood D . R . Miller, a n d J. W. S u i t e r : I n t e r g r a n u l a r
in Stressed h,etals, A~~~~M e t a l l u r g i c n ,1954, ?, P , 250.
' H . Vosskuhler: Die Warmfestigkeitseigenschaften d e r Elektron-
Legicrungen bei statischer Zugbeanspruchung. MetallwlTtscilaft --- - -
Discussion of t h i s p a p e r s e n t 12 copies! t o AIME b y Oct. 1. 1956
~
--
119381 l i , No. 35, p. 935.
will a p p e a r i n AIME Transflctiorrs Vol. Zl)!), 1957, a n d in JOURNAL
, , F , M , Howell: Some Mechanical Properties of Currently Avail-
a b l e A l u m i n u m a n d Magnesium Alloy P r o d u c t s a t Various T e m p e r - _ ~_ ~ ~. .
Y-~"TAL?'IL~~Y~ ~ ~ p~~

Dislocations in Plastically Bent Germanium Crystals

Densities and distributions of dislocations in plastically bent germanium crystals before and
after annealing were studied. I n the bent and annealed crystals, the theoretical relationship be-
,' 1 \
tween radius of curvature and density of dislocations ( P = f) is confirmed. Before annealing,
.-
however, more dislocations are present than required, and these are distributed with a minimum a t
the neutral axis and maxima a t the top and bottom surfaces. O n annealing, three significant changes
occur in the bent bars: 1) the average dislocation density is reduced, presumably by the annihila-
tion of opposite signs; 2) dislocations migrate from the high density outside regions toward the low
density neutral axis, thus producing the equilibrium distribution of dislocations; and 3) a polygonized
structure is formed by movement of the dislocations into walls normal to the slip plane.

by F. L. Vogel, Jr.

E TCHING to reveal edge dislocations'-" offers a

unique opportunity to study, in germanium sin-
gle crystals, the functioning of dislocations in plastic
deformation. Plastic bending is ideally suited to this
purpose because it produces a static array of edge
dislocations in an ideally plastic material which is
Fig. 1-Bending pro-
predictable from the theory."" Nye" has given a duced in s i m ~ l ecubic
rather complete treatment of the geometry of bent lattice by edge dis-
crystals in terms of dislocations. The density of ex- locations: p =
cess dislocations is related to the radius of curvature density of edge dis-
of the slip plane of a bent crystal, as shown in Fig. locations, r =
1, assuming the absence of macroscopic elastic radius of curvature
stresses. The curvature of any plane in the zone of of slip plane, and
+
the bend axis is found by resolving the Burgers vec- b = Burgers vector.
tor into that plane, so that for the usual case where
the slip plane is inclined at some angle 0 to the neu-
tral plane of the bar, the equation

applies, with T equal to the radius of curvature of the neutral plane of the bent crystal. Two predic-
-. tions which are relevant to this study may be made
F. L. VOGEL, JR., Member AIME, is with Bell Telephone Labo- from Eq. 1. First, in crystals bent to various radii,
ratories, Murray Hill, N . J. the average excess dislocation density is inversely
TP 4192E. Manuscript, Aug. 22, 1955. New York Meeting, Feb- proportional to the radius and second, for a bar bent
ruary 1956.
to a radius which is large compared with its thick-

9 4 6 J O U R N A L OF METALS, AUGUST 1956 TRANSACTIONS AIME


BENDING
COUPLE
Fig. 2-Orientation of active slip system in single crystal
bars used in the present investigation.
BENDING
y*3
SPECIMEN
\ cm intervals. Dislocation densities on (711) were
GRAPHITE BLOCK
Fig. 3-Diagram illustrates bending apparatus.
ness, the dislocation density should be uniform
across the bar.
The requirement that macroscopic elastic stresses
be absent in the bent crystals may be satisfied by
annealing for extended times at a temperature
where the yield strength of the material is very low.
Therefore, Eq. 1 was tested experimentally by
bending small germanium crystals to various radii,
annealing, and measuring the resulting dislocation
densities.
Experimental
Single crystal bars of germanium having 0.15x0.15
cm sq cross sections, 3.2 cm long, were cut and then
surface ground by hand with 600 mesh Carborun-
dum. These operations could be performed without
more than superficial damage because germanium is
completely brittle at room temperature. The crys-
tals were oriented as shown in Fig. 2 with the (111)
slip plane inclined at 42" to the neutral plane and a
< 110> slip direction at 42' to the neutral axis. This
orientation was selected for two reasons: 1) slip
on only one set of glide planes can occur on bending,
and 2) the edge dislocations produced lie parallel
to the <112> bend axis, which simplifies analysis.
The bars were deformed in an apparatus shown
schematically in Fig. 3. Each specimen rested on
graphite end blocks 3 cm apart and was heated by
the passage of an electric current controlled by a
Variac. Heating of the specimens was necessary to
raise their temperature to the vicinity of 550°C,
where germanium is easily deformed. A static load
was applied through a pair of steatite knife edges 1
cm apart. A simple beam loaded in this manner has
a uniform shear stress and will therefore bend into
a circular arc between the loading points. The de-
flection was measured on a dial gage and was used
TRANSACTIONS AlME
to calculate the radius of curvature of the bars, as-
suming that the central section was an arc of a circle
and the outside sections were straight. In executing
,BENDING
COUPLE
the experiments, specimens were placed on the
graphite blocks, the loads applied, and the tempera-
tures increased until the predetermined deflections
were obtained. Each bar was at the elevated tem-
perature for less than 1 min. In this manner, four
bars were bent to radii of 3.4, 5.2, 14.3, and 28.2 cm.
The intersection of an edge dislocation with a
(111) surface of a germanium crystal can be made
visible as a conical pit by polish-etching with CP-4.'
Therefore, each crystal was cut to expose the ( i l l ) ,
which is almost normal to the <i12> bend axis,
by means of an optical goniometer adapted for cut-
ting and grinding. The specimens with (711) faces
exposed were then mounted in Bakelite and polish-
etched in CP-4 to reveal the edge dislocations. A
series of contiguous micrographs at XlOOO running
normal to the neutral axis was taken on each speci-
men. The local dislocation densities were measured
as functions of distance from the neutral axis by
counting the number of dislocation etch pits on the
micrographs in 2.5x2.5 cm areas located at about 10
then corrected to densities on (112) by dividing by
cos 19" = 0.946. No correction for the dislocation
density present prior to deformation was required
since the density observed on (111) in undeformed
germanium crystals is typically -1O'per cmS,where-
as all of the densities encountered in this investiga-
tion were in excess of 10" per cmz.
The specimens which were used in examining the
as-bent state could not be used for the annealing
experiments, since they could not be removed from
their Bakelite mountings. Therefore, seven addi-
tional crystals were bent as before to radii ranging
from 5 to 20 cm, and were subsequently annealed in
vacuum for 3 days at 800°C. After annealing, each
specimen was ground to expose ( i l l ) , mounted,
polish-etched in CP-4, and examined for dislocation
density in the same manner as the bent samples.
Results and Discussion
A section on (711) of a typical bent crystal etched
to reveal the edge dislocations is shown in Fig. 4.
The dislocation etch pits are aligned in the traces of
the active (171) slip planes.' However, the distribu-
tion of dislocations normal to the neutral axis is not
that predicted by Eq. 1 for the bending of an ideally
plastic material. In the bent crystal shown there are
almost no dislocations along the neutral axis, signi-
fying that there is no plastic deformation along the
Fig. &Micrograph
shows dls,ocation
etch pats viewed on
0 1 1 ) face of ger-
manlum crystal bent
around [ i 1 2 ] axis
to radius of 14.3
cm; CP-4 polish-
etch Dislocations
are a l ~ g n e dIn traces
of active slip plane.
Neutral axis of bar
lies along bottom
edge. X150. Area
reduced approxi-
mately 25 pct for
reproduction.
AUGUST 1956, JOURNAL OF M E T A L S 9 4 7
 Fig. 7-Microgroph
shows dislocation
etch pits on (11 1)
face of crystal bent
Fig. %Observed to radius of 5 cm,
dislocation densities then annealed 3 days
as a function of a t 800°C. Disloca-
distonce from neu- tions are aligned in
tral axis for various traces normal to the
radii of curvature active slip plane.
of bent and un- Neutral axis of beam
annealed bars. lies along bottom
edge. X250. Area
reduced approxi-
0.7 on 0.5 01 0 3 0 2 0.0 o 0 1 0 2 03 oa
DIS1ANCE FROM NEUTRAL &XIS IN MU
od oa 07 mately 25 pct for
reproduction.

neutral axis. At increasing distances normal to the

neutral axis the density of dislocations increases in tative conclusions of this treatment. The presence of
correspondence with the strain. This distribution residual elastic stresses prevents the equilibrium
was found in all of the bent crystals, as shown in case described by Eq. 1 from obtaining.
Fig. 5. The form of this distribution is explained Measured average dislocation densities of the
with reference to Fig. 6. In Fig. 6a the total strain, bent bars were consistently higher than the values
E , , is assumed to be roughly proportional to the dis-
predicted for pure plastic bending, as shown in
tance normal to the neutral plane. The elastic strain, Table I. This discrepancy is attributed to the pres-
E , , curve is similar in shape to the stress-strain curve
ence of dislocations of the minority sign which are
for the material. The difference in strain between trapped inside the crystal and are thus counted. At
these two curves at any point is the plastic strain a t the earliest stage of plastic bending, the dislocation
that point. The form of the plastic strain vs distance
from the neutral axis curve is given by Fig. 6b as
obtained from Fig. 6a. Assuming that all of the dis- Table I. Average Dislocation Densities in Bent Crystals
locations are of the same sign, the plastic strain at
any point is proportional to the number of disloca-
Calculaled
tions which have glided through that point. There- Density Observed
fore, the slope of the plastic strain curve a t any Radius of
of Excess
Dislocations.
Density of
Dislocations,
point is proportional to the dislocation density, or Bend, Cm 100 per Cm" 1W per Cm?
Fig. 6c is derived from Fig. 6b by differentiation.
The same type of dislocation distribution in a bent
crystal is deduced from this analysis, as was found
experimentally. The fact that all of the dislocations
are not of the same sign does not destroy the quali-

sources a t the surface of the beam operate because

the stress is greatest there. As the material at the
outside deforms, sources farther in become active
when their critical stresses are exceeded. Minority
sign dislocations from sources nearer the neutral
axis having a greater distance to travel are more
likely to be retained in the bar and be counted.
On annealing, several striking changes are appar-
ent by comparing Fig. 7 with Fig. 4. The dislocation
PLASTIC S T R A I N density distribution is completely changed after an-
'
I 1 nealing to one in agreement with Eq. 1. This change
requires that the dislocations on the high density
outside regions of the bar migrate to the neutral
axis where the density was low. Further, after an-
nealing, it is observed that the dislocations are no
longer aligned in the slip planes, but have climbed
into polygonized arrays normal to the slip plane.7
This observation of migration and polygonization
demonstrates in a convincing way the mobility of
dislocations at elevated temperatures.
A third change on annealing is not as obvious
from comparison of the micrographs. The average
dislocation densities of the bent crystals are reduced
to values which are in good agreement with those
0
predicted by the theory for pure plastic bending, as
shown in Fig. 8. This reduction must occur by an-
Fig. &Schematic representation of several parameters in
bent crystal beam: a ) total strain, E , , and elastic strain, e,,
nihilation of dislocations of opposite sign until only
as a function of distance normal to neutral axis, C; b) plastic those of the majority sign remain. Thus, the simple
strain, e,, as a function of distance from neutral axis, C; situation described by the theory is obtained after
and c) dislocation density, p, as a function of distance from the annealing, which removes the residual elastic
neutral axis, C. stresses and the minority sign dislocations.

948-JOURNAL O F METALS, AUGUST 1956 TRANSACTIONS A l M E

 Fig. &Dislocation
/ 7 -

1.1 density as a function

, ,

5
circles ore data
. . points.

I
OL
- -
12 I4 I8 18 20 22 24
9 L i 6 6 10
R A D I U S O F CURVATURE IN C U

A mechanism which will produce an array of

edge dislocations which satisfies the forces imposed
by bending may be described as follows: * When a
-- -- - .
-
This mechanism w a s arrived at i n discussion w i t h J. N . Hob-
stetter.
- --
bending couple is applied to a single crystal beam,
the shear stress on a given slip plane inclined to the
neutral plane is opposite in sense on opposite sides
of the neutral plane. This shear stress is zero a t the
neutral plane and rises to a maximum at the outside
surfaces of the beam. As the bending moment is in-
creased, a critical stress is reached for the operation
of dislocation generators such as the Frank-Read
sources. Dislocation rings having edge and screw
orientations of both signs then emanate from the
source, a and b in Fig. 9. The ring expands under the
influence of the applied stress, the edge orientation Fig. 9-Formation of excess edge dislocations on bending by
of one sign and the screw orientations of both signs expansion of dislocation rings and rejection of certain ori-
moving to the outside surfaces of the bar, where entations: a) slip plane is shown in perspective; b ) section
they are rejected. This leaves segments of edge ori- cutting dislocation rings is shown in edge orientofion. Letter-
entation of the sign, c, d, and e in Fig. 9, which are ing in diagram, a, b, c, etc., represents successive positions
moved inward by the shear stress on the slip plane. of dislocotions coming from source, S.
They move toward the neutral axis to the point
where the stress can no longer support their motion. throughout the cross section, and c) a polygonized
Thus, by rejection of certain parts of the dislocation structure is formed by alignment of the dislocations
ring, an excess or majority of edge dislocations of into walls normal to the slip planes.
the sign which accommodates the bending imposed
by the applied forces is produced. Acknowledgment
The author wishes to thank Miss L. C. Love11 for
Conclusions assistance with the experimental work and W. G.
1 ) In bent and annealed germanium single crys- Pfann for helpful discussions.
tals the observed dislocation density agrees with
1 References
that given by the derived relationship p = . IF. L . V o g e l , W . G . P f a n n , H . E. C o r e y , and E. E . Thomas: Phys-
ical Rez,ieto 11953t 90, p. 489.
r.b ' C . J . Gallagher: Bulletin Amer. Physical Soc. (1953) 2 8 , p. 10.
2 ) Prior to annealing, dislocations of both signs ' G . L . Pearson, W . T . Read, and F. J . Morin: Physical Review
11954) 93, p. 666.
are present in the bent bars. They are distributed in ' R . W . C a h n : Journal Inst. o f Metals (1949) 86, p. 121.
' A . H. Cottrell: Dislocations and Plastic Flow i n Crystals. (1954)
a n array determined by the plastic strain. p. 30. London. O x f o r d University Press.
3) On annealing, three changes occur: a ) there is " J . F . N y e : Acta Metallurgica (1953) 1 , p. 153.
' F . L. Vogel: Acta Metnllurgicn 11955) 3 , p. 95.
a reduction of total number of dislocations dem-
Discussion o f this paper sent 12 copies) t o AIME b y Oct. 1, 1956
onstrating the annihilation of opposite signs, b ) will appear i n AIME Transnctzons Vol. 209, 1957, and i n JOURNAL OF
the dislocations redistribute themselves uniformly M E T A L SMay
, 1957.
--

Correction

In the May 1956 issue: T P 40853. Evidence for Solidification of a Metastable Phase in Fe-Ni Alloys
by R. E. Cech. On p. 586, captions for Figs. l a and l b have been transposed. Caption for Fig. l a is for Fig.
lb, and caption for Fj.g. l b is for Fig. la.

TRANSACTIONS A I M E AUGUST 1956, JOURNAL O F M E T A L S 9 4 9