Multiaxial yield behavior of 1100 aluminum following various magnitudes of prestrain

Abstract The multiaxial yield and flow behavior of metals has been of interest for many years. Recently, the experimental work of Phillips & Lee [1979], Shiratori et al. [1979] and Ohashi [1982] has been quite notable in this field. These authors have concentrated their efforts in measuring yield loci after small to moderate prestrains (≤0.06). In this paper we discuss small strain yield loci we have measured after prestrains between 0.03 and 0.05 in torsion. These experiments on 1100 aluminum are in general agreement with the literature. They show a translation, distortion and expansion of the yield loci. A rounded nose forms in the direction of prestrain with the yield locus flattering opposite the prestrain. We observed that the distortions change to match the strain direction after very small reversals in prestrain. The subsequent yield locus has also been measured after a large torsional prestrain of γ =0.5. Using a 5 × 10 −6 offset criterion for yielding, the shape, distortion and translation of the yield locus was very similar to that found after the smaller prestrains. In addition a large-strain yield locus, using a back extrapolation technique, was determined for the same sample. This yield locus exhibited close to von Mises isotropic expansion. The observed deviations, while slight are extremely important. They match those predicted by a polycrystal slip model. Thus, the small-strain yield locus, after a large prestrain, appears to be determined largely from dislocation considerations only, where as the large-strain yield locus is determined by the developing texture. Finally, aluminum sheet was deformed by rolling to larger prestrains ϵ von Mises = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 and subsequently tested in plane strain compression. Two types of compression experiments were done, one such that there was no deformation mode change from rolling, the other rotating the direction of zero strain by 90° producing a stress path change. The large strain yield and flow behavior of these experiments was again predicted using the relaxed constraint polycrystal model of Kocks & Canova [1981]. For these very large prestrains the experiments and texture theory differ. Micrstructural observations have shown the presence of micro-shear bands which resulted from the rolling prestrain. We speculate that these features are responsible for the deviation from crystal plasticity theory. We believe that this work points to several operative mechanisms of deformation. Small-strain yielding (5 × 10 −6 ) appears to be controlled purely by dislocation mechanisms and interactions even after relatively large prestrains. Large-strain yielding, on the other hand, is controlled by texture after moderate prestrains (at least to γ = 0.5). After large prestrains, obtained by rolling, the experiments deviate from texture based predictions. This is possibly the result of microstructural deformation mechanisms, for example micro-shear bands, playing a role in the deformation process.