Plastic deformation in Single Crystals

Physics of single-crystal plasticity

Established by Ewing and Rosenheim(1900), Polanyi (1922), Taylor

and others (1923 - 38), Schmid & Boas (1924 - 35), Bragg (1933)

Mathematical representation

Initially proposed by Taylor in 1938, Bishop & Hill (1951)

Further developments by Hill (1966), Kocks (1970), Hill and Rice

(1972) , Asaro and Rice(1977), Hill and Havner(1983)
 Plastic flow in single crystals
F Consider a single crystal subjected to a
uniaxial tension as shown in Figure.

Outward At room temperature the major source for

normal plastic deformation is the dislocation motion
through the crystal lattice.

Dislocation motions occurs on fixed crystal

Slip direction planes (slip planes) in fixed
crystallographic directions (corresponding
As to the Burgers vector of the dislocation that
Slip plane
carries the slip).

Ao The crystal structure of metals is not

altered by the plastic flow.
 Plastic flow in single crystals
F Note: The plane normal, external
applied force and the slip directions
need not be coplanar (+900). It
Outward means, slip may not occur in the
normal direction of the max. shear stress.

The resolved shear stress is now
the ratio of the resolved shear force to
Slip direction the area of the slip plane.

As Fs F cos F cos cos

Slip plane RSS
As As Ao

Ao
RSS 1
m where, m
cos cos

1/m = Schmid Boas factor

 Plastic flow in single crystals
F Plastic flow initiates when the resolved
shear stress reaches a critical value:

Outward Y m CRSS
normal

where, CRSS is the critical resolved
shear stress, and Y is the yield stress
Slip direction of the material.

As The value of CRSS depends on

Slip plane temperature, strain rate, initial
dislocation density and purity.
Ao
Summary of Schmid-Boas Law

Initial yield stress varies from sample to sample depending on,

among several factors, the position of the crystal lattice relative
to the loading axis.

It is the shear stress resolved along the slip direction on the slip
plane that initiates plastic deformation.

Yield will begin on a slip system when the shear stress on this
system first reaches a critical value (critical resolved shear
stress, crss), independent of the tensile stress or any other
normal stress on the lattice plane.

E. Schmid & W. Boas (1935), Kristallplastizitt, Berlin: Springer.

E. Schmid & W. Boas (1950), Plasticity of Crystals, Hughes & Co., London.
Experimental evidence for Schmids law
Soft orientation,
with slip plane at
45to tensile axis

The experimental evidence of

Schmids Law is that there is a
critical resolved shear stress.
This is verified by measuring
the yield stress of Mg single
crystals as a function of
Hard orientation, orientation. Mg is hexagonal
with slip plane at and slips most readily on the
~90to tensile axis basal plane (all other crss are
much larger).
Theoretical strength of a perfect crystal
Consider two plane of atoms in a perfect crystal (assuming no defects)
subjected to a shear stress,

initial mid-position final position

b = interatomic spacing If u is the displacement, then plastic deformation

should have occurred when u = b (slip distance)
d = interplanar spacing
Theoretical strength of a perfect crystal
Assuming sinusoidal relationship between stress
and displacement,
th
2u where, th = theoretical
th sin
b stress, (at u = b/4)

b/4 u
At small displacements, sinx ~ x,
and the shear strain, = u/d,

2u u
th
b d
b
b
th ~ th
2d 2 6
Theoretical strength of a perfect crystal
Although some of the sophisticated calculations of theoretical strength of a
crystal predict values in the order of /10 -/30, the experimental yield
strengths of materials yield values which are orders of magnitude less than
the predicted theoretical strength!

This led to the postulation of the existence of defects in the materials

(dislocations), independently postulated by, G. I. Taylor, Orowan and Polanyi
that it is the movement of these defects which cause plastic deformation in
materials, and the stress required to move these dislocations to cause the
same displacement b is quite small !
Movement of dislocations
Movement of dislocations
Movement of dislocations
Movement of dislocations
Movement of dislocations

b = slip distance
Peierls-Nabarro stress
Displacement b is obtained by a localized motion of atoms rather than
simultaneous shear of a perfect plane.

Displacement associated with the dislocation is spread across several

atoms as you see in the previous slide (causing dislocation width).

The stress required to move the dislocation along the slip plane is called the
Peierls-Nabarro stress and it is very small compared to the theoretical
strength (analogous to movement of a carpet)

Dislocation width w is governed by the nature

2w
f exp of atomic bonding and crystal structure.
b For eg. in covalent materials, w is very narrow
(w ~ b), hence high frictional stresses.
 Influence of temperature & strain rate
The figure exemplifies three regions of
CRSS as a function of temperature and strain
rate.

The first and the third stages illustrating a
1 2 strong temperature dependence and strain
shear stress (CRSS)

rate dependence of CRSS.

Critical resolved

2
The CRSS can be expressed as

*
CRSS a *

I a II III a = athermal component of stress

(temperature independent term)

* = thermal component of stress

0.25 Tm 0.7 Tm

Temperature (T)
 Influence of temperature & strain rate
The origins of both the temperature-
dependent and temperature-independent
components of stresses are directly related to
the microstructural features of the material

1 2

specifically related to stresses required to
overcome the obstacles .
shear stress (CRSS)
Critical resolved

*
Obstacles

I a II III

Short range Long range

0.25 Tm 0.7 Tm
(Thermal (Athermal
obstacles) obstacles)
Influence of temperature & strain rate
CRSS
Short range obstacles
(SROs)
- 10 atomic spacings or less (field of
influence).
- Less energy required to overcome.
- Peierls-Nabarro energy barrier is a short
range obstacle.
-Randomly dispersed solute atoms act as
short range obstacles.
- Small precipitates also act as short
range obstacles.
- these obstacles can be thermally
activated.
a *
Long range obstacles
(LROs)
- field of influence is more than 10 atomic
spacings.
- Very large energy is required to overcome
these obstacles.
- long range stress fields of other
dislocations act as LROs.
- Large precipitates act as LROs.
- Attractive forest dislocations act as LROs.
- these obstacles cannot be thermally
activated.
 Influence of temperature, solute additions &
bonding on CRSS for various materials

Observe the following:

Resistance to plastic deformation is

CRSS (MPa)

relatively low in FCC metals in comparison

to BCC transition metals.
Increase in CRSS as a result of solute
additions/impurity atoms.
Increase in CRSS of covalently bonded
solids in comparison to ionic solids.
Increase in CRSS at higher strain rates
see NaCl.
T/Tm
 Shear stress shear strain curve for a
single crystal
Onset of multiple slip
Role of stacking
Stage - I Stage - II Stage - III fault energy

Linear
Easy glide hardening
region Decreasing
Shear stress

hardening
Single rate
Very sensitive to
slip temperature and strain rate
Max. work Exhausion & SFE
hardening hardening
Low
hardening Nearly independent of
rate temperature or strain rate

Shear strain
 Tensile stress-strain behavior of Cu single crystals
(Tensile axis [123])
Multiple slip The critical resolved shear stress
[111] (CRSS) is the same for all crystal
[112] orientations.
60
Significant work hardening in other
orientations [111] crystal has the most
active slip system.
Stress
(MPa)

Single slip

[123] Certain crystal orientations promote

slip in 2 or more slip systems at the
Easy glide onset of plastic deformation

0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1

Strain Diehl, Jorg , Z. Metallkunde, 47, (1956)

Crystal orientation dependence on multiple slip

Constraints on sample deformation
Tensile testing Multiple slip due to testing constraints

(a) Tensile deformation of a single

crystal without constraints.
(b) Rotation of slip planes due to
constraints
Slip
planes
Given an orientation for single slip,
i.e. the resolved shear stress
reaches the critical value on one
system ahead of all others, then
one obtains a pack-of-cards

straining (as seen in figure on the
(a) (b) left).
Rotation of the crystal lattice
n slip plane normal.
s slip direction.
o initial orientation of
the slip plane with the
tensile axis.
- orientation of the slip
plane with the tensile axis
after rotation.

The slip direction rotates towards the tensile axis and the reverse happens
during compressive loading.
 Plastic deformation of bicrystals
The following conditions must be met at the
Grain grain boundary for material continuity, failing
boundary which voids/cracks appear at the grain
y boundary ( requirement of cooperative
displacements at the boundary).

: where, yy and zz are the normal strains along y and

x z- axes respectively, and yz the shear strain along the
x-plane (yz plane).
z
I II 1yy 11
yy

1zz 11
zz

1yz 11
yz

Plastic deformation of bicrystals
In the literature, the deformation of bicrystals of different materials has been studied extensively.
Detailed investigations have been carried out, for instance,

on tin,
B. Chalmers. Proc R Soc A162 (1937), p. 120.

on zinc,
T. Kawada. J Phy Soc Jpn 6 (1951), p. 362.
J.J. Gilman. Acta Metall 1 (1953), p. 426.

on magnesium,
J.D. Mote and J.E. Dorn. Trans AIME 218 (1960), p. 491.

on copper,
C. Rey and A. Zaoui. Acta Metall 30 (1982), p. 523.

on aluminum,
K.T. Aust and N.K. Chen. Acta Metall 2 (1954), p. 632.
R. Clark and B. Chalmers. Acta Metall 2 (1954), p. 80.
J.D. Livingston and B. Chalmers. Acta Metall 5 (1957), p. 322.
R.L. Fleischer and B. Chalmers. Trans AIME 212 (1958), p. 265.
S. Miura and Y. Saeki. Acta Metall 26 (1978), p. 93.
C. Rey and A. Zaoui. Acta Metall 28 (1980), p. 687.
S. Sun, B.L. Adams and W. King. Phil Mag A 80 (2000), p. 9.
P. Yu and K.S. Havner. J Mech Phy Sol 49 (2001), p. 173.
Plastic deformation of bicrystals
Livingston and Chalmers, pioneers in this field, concluded from their work on aluminum
bicrystals that, in order to keep the macroscopic plastic compatibility across the grain boundary,
bicrystals have to deform by multiple slip.
J.D. Livingston and B. Chalmers. Acta Metall 5 (1957), p. 322.

Hook and Hirth suggested in their studies on Fe3%Si bicrystals that the elastic incompatibility at
the grain boundaries results in the activation of secondary slip systems. These investigations built
their discussions essentially on intergranular incompatibility assuming otherwise homogeneous
behavior of the two abutting crystals,
R.E. Hook and J.P. Hirth. Acta Metall 15 (1967), p. 535.
R.E. Hook and J.P. Hirth. Acta Metall 15 (1967), p. 1099.

Recent detailed studies by Rey and Zaoui on Cu bicrystals, revealed that the presence of grain
boundaries can also give rise to considerable intragranular heterogeneity. Rey and Zaoui found
that intragranular nonhomogeneity leads to internal stresses inside each of the two neighboring
crystals entailing activation of additional slip systems and considerable corresponding hardening
effects.
C. Rey and A. Zaoui. Acta Metall 28 (1980), p. 687.
C. Rey and A. Zaoui. Acta Metall 30 (1982), p. 523.
 Room temperature tensile stress-strain curves for a
single crystal, bicrystal and a polycrystal
polycrystal
Condition for a polycrystalline deformation
Load (lb)

Load (N)
bicrystal
Five independent strains

Single Niobium
crystal

Five independent slip systems

polycrystal
Stress (MPa)

bicrystal
Single
crystal Operation of five independent slip
systems in the vicinity of the grain
NaCl boundaries to maintain grain boundary
compatibility !
Strain
Plastic deformation of polycrystals
Plastic deformation of a polycrystal differs from that of
a single crystals in two respects:

(i) Grain boundaries act as obstacles to dislocation movement.

(ii) Individual grains in the polycrystal will possess a wide variety of

orientations
 Statistically stored & geometrically necessary
dislocations
When a polycrystalline material is deformed, both statistically-stored and
geometrically-necessary dislocations are required to accommodate the deformation.
Hence the total dislocation density at a given strain,T, can be written as:
T = l + gb
where, l = density of statistically-stored dislocations associated with deformation of the
lattice - associated with dislocation multiplication and accumulation with plastic
strain.
gb = density of geometrically-necessary dislocations associated with
maintaining grain boundary compatibility during plastic deformation associated with
plastic strain gradient in the crystal.

According to M.F. Ashby, the deformation of polycrystals can be divided into two parts:

a general, uniform deformation during which the statistically-stored dislocations accumulate

+
a local, non-uniform deformation during which the geometrically-necessary dislocations accumulate

M.F. Ashby, Phil. Mag., 21, 399 (1970)

 Statistically stored & geometrically necessary
dislocations
The statistically-stored dislocation density (l) is a characteristic of the properties of
the material; for instance: crystal structure, shear modulus, stacking fault energy.

Geometrically-necessary dislocation density (gb) is a characteristic of the particular

microstructure, for instance: the grain boundaries, second phase particles.

Although statistically-stored and geometrically-necessary dislocations can interact

with each other, to a first approximation, the geometrically-necessary dislocation
density can be considered independent of the material.

Thus, the total dislocation density is simply the sum of the statistically-stored and
geometrically-necessary dislocation densities. In bulk metals and their alloys, the
contributions from statistically stored dislocations to strain accumulations are much
greater than those due to geometrically necessary dislocations.

M.F. Ashby, Phil. Mag., 21, 399 (1970)

Plastic deformation of polycrystals
Generation of geometrically necessary dislocations
during tensile deformation of a polycrystal.

Part - II: Grains have been deformed according to

their orientations and Schmid factors as if they were
independent.
Part - III: If the grains did not cohere then open-or-
doubly occupied wedges would appear during
I II deformation. The introduction of suitable dislocations
in part III allows restoration of material continuity
(Part IV).

It is plausible to place the geometrically necessary

dislocations at the grain boundaries where the
incompatibility stresses are higher and the
III IV statistically stored dislocations (not shown in fig) will
harden the crystals depending on their orientations.
References:
Physical Metallurgy, P. Haasen
(references to scientific publications given at appropriate slides)

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