The influence of stacking fault energy on the mechanical behavior of Cu and Cu-Al alloys: Deformation twinning, work hardening, and dynamic recovery

The role of stacking fault energy (SFE) in deformation twinning and work hardening was systematically studied in Cu (SFE similar to 78 ergs/cm(2)) and a series of Cu-Al solid-solution alloys (0.2, 2, 4, and 6 wt pet Al with SFE similar to 75, 25, 13, and 6 ergs/cm(2), respectively). The materials were deformed under quasi-static compression and at strain rates of similar to 1000/s in a Split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The quasi-static flow curves of annealed 0.2 and 2 wt pet Al alloys were found to be representative of solid-solution strengthening and well described by the Hall-Fetch relation. The quasi-static flow curves of annealed 4 and 6 wt pet Al alloys showed additional strengthening at strains greater than 0.10. This additional strengthening was attributed to deformation twins and the presence of twins was confirmed by optical microscopy. The strengthening contribution of deformation twins was incorporated in a modified Hall-Fetch equation (using intertwin spacing as the "effective" grain size), and the calculated strength was in agreement with the observed quasi-static flow stresses. While the work-hardening rate of the low SFE Cu-AL alloys was found to be independent of the strain rate, the work-hardening rate of Cu and the high SFE Cu-Al alloys (low Al content) increased with increasing strain rate. The different trends in the dependence of work-hardening rate on strain rate was attributed to the difference in the ease of cross-slip (and, hence, the ease of dynamic recovery) in Cu and Cu-Al alloys.