High temperature creep of Ni-20Cr-2ThO2 single crystals

A review of creep data of discontinuous SiCAl composites (whisker and particulate) shows that the creep behavior of these composites exhibits two main characteristics: (a) the stress dependence of the steady state (or minimum) creep rate, as described by the value of the stress exponent, is high and variable and (b) the temperature dependence of the steady state (or minimum) creep rate, which is measured by the creep activation energy, is much larger than that for self-diffusion in aluminum. These two characteristics are examined in the light of theoretical treatments describing the origin of high temperature strengthening in discontinuous metal matrix composites and dislocation models proposed for dispersion-strengthened alloys.

Creep behavior of discontinuous SiCAl composites

It was 25 years ago that the symposium on rate processes in plasticity was organized. Since then, advances in transmission electron microscopy, large-scale computation as well as molecular dynamics simulation, etc. have contributed much to our understanding of elevated temperature plasticity. The constitutive relation that links the stress–strain rate–grain size–temperature relation (Mukherjee–Bird–Dorn, MBD correlation) was presented in 1968/1969 to describe the elevated-temperature crystalline plasticity. This equation has held up well during the intervening quarter of a century. It has been applied to metals, alloys, intermetallics, ceramics, and tectonic systems, and it has worked equally well. It made the depiction of deformation mechanism maps in normalized coordinates a reality and provided a rationale for estimating life prediction by giving a quantitative estimate of the steady-state creep rate in creep damage accumulation relationship. In the case of particle-dispersed systems as well as metal matrix composites, the introduction of the concept of a threshold stress was a substantial improvement in creep studies. One of the significant applications of the MBD relation has been in superplasticity. The concept of scaling with either temperature or with strain rate, inherent in this relationship, seems to be obeyed as long as the rate-controlling mechanism is unchanged. The application of this relation to high strain-rate superplasticity and also to low-temperature superplasticity has been illustrated. Experimental data demonstrate that superplasticity of nanocrystalline metals and alloys follows the general trend of the constitutive relation but with important differences in the level of stress and strain hardening rates. It is shown that in the nanocrystalline range, molecular dynamics simulation has the potential to yield data on stress–grain size–temperature dependencies at very low grain size ranges where experimentalists cannot conduct their studies yet.

An examination of the constitutive equation for elevated temperature plasticity

Apparent and effective creep parameters in single crystals of a nickel base superalloy—II. Secondary creep

The effect of stress on the creep properties of 30 vol.% silicon carbide particulate reinforced 6061 aluminum (SiC p -6061 Al), produced by powder metallurgy, has been studied in the temperature range of 618–678 K. The experimental data, which extend over seven orders of magnitude of strain rate, show that the creep curve exhibits a very short steady-state stage; that the stress exponent, n , is high ( n > 7.4) and increases with decreasing the applied stress; and that the apparent activation energy for creep, Q a , is much higher than the activation energy for self-diffusion in aluminum. The above creep characteristics of SiC p -6061 Al are similar to those reported for dispersion strengthened (DS) alloys, where the high stress exponent for creep and its variation with stress are explained in terms of a threshold stress for creep that is introduced by the dispersoid particles. Analysis of the creep data of SiC p -6061 Al using the various threshold stress models proposed for DS alloys indicates that the threshold stresses introduced by the SiC particulates are too small to account for the observed creep behavior of the composite. By considering an alternate approach for the source of the threshold stress in SiC p -6061 Al, an explanation for the asymptotic behavior of the creep data of the composite is offered. The approach is based on the idea that the oxide particles present in the Al matrix, as a result of manufacturing the composite by powder metallurgy, serve as effective barriers to dislocation motion and give rise to the existence of a threshold stress for creep.

High temperature creep of silicon carbide particulate reinforced aluminum

Creep studies on dispersion strengthened metals have often resulted in inexplicably high creep activation energies and high stress exponents. An analysis is presented which shows that the contribution of the temperature dependent elastic modulus to the apparent activation energy can be very large. Two cases are examined in which the difference between the apparent activation energy and the activation energy of self diffusion is almost entirely accounted for by the contribution of the temperature dependent elastic modulus. The modulus correction is particularly important at high temperatures and for materials with high stress exponents.

W. D. Nlx

Papers

On high creep activation energies for dispersion strengthened metals