Intergranular micro-deformation behavior of a medium strength 7xxx aluminum alloy

Abstract

Compression experiments were designed to examine the intergranular deformation behaviors of 7xxx aluminum alloy at a micro-scale. Band structures formed in grains upon deformation were characterized by electron backscatter diffraction technique, and the local stored energy was analyzed in a quantitative way. In addition, the deformation behaviors of the six pairs of adjacent deformed grains show that, the dislocation slips are transmissible between some pairs of grains but terminated in front of other grain boundaries. Such slip transmission is influenced by the Schmid factor, the strain coordination factor mʹ, and the degree of strain concentration between grains, according to the analysis of kernel average misorientation.

Keywords

• Kernel average misorientation
• Slip transmission
• Strain accommodation