Effect of the grain size on the accumulation of damage in a metal subjected to plastic deformation

The integrated assessment of the accumulation of damage in D16 aluminum alloy with coarse grains (≈3 and 8 mm) grown by a special thermal treatment shows that the grain size can strongly affect the rate of accumulation of damage in metallic materials under static loading. The degree of damage to the metal correlates well with some parameters of its damping ability and acoustic emission. These results are important from the scientific point of view and can be used for the solution of practical problems, in particular, for the improvement of existing methods and developing new methods and equipment for nondestructive testing of deformed metals. © 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation.