Analysis of the internal friction spectra of high purity aluminium at medium temperatures

The internal friction spectra of high purity aluminium (99.999%) has been thoroughly studied but, at the present time, there is no agreement about the number of peaks at medium temperatures and the number of components of each peak. This paper discusses the reasons for that controversy and summarizes the relaxation processes found in the internal friction spectra. Some authors have assumed that the P-2 peak (also called k (e) over cap peak) is formed by two components, one associated to a mechanism of dislocation mobility and the other to grain boundary sliding. However, this assertion is based on weak experimental evidence, which is critically reviewed in this work. The fitting methods used to decompose the internal friction spectra have also been discussed, since some of them can generate spurious components and lead to equivocal conclusions. Another point of great interest that has remained unclear concerns the shifts of the temperature of the peaks observed by many authors, which are explained in this paper with the help of some mechanisms of dislocation mobility. Several specific experimental measurements in 99.999% aluminium and 99.9999% aluminium doped with 10 ppm of copper are presented to clarify these questions. It is concluded that PZ is composed of just one component and is associated to a mechanism of dislocation mobility. In addition, we have determined that there are only three peaks in the medium temperature range, namely P-1, P-2 and P-3. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.