Institute of Metals Division - Formation of Deformation Bands In Al-3 Pct Mg Monocrystals During Cold Rolling

IN previous studies on the effect of orientation on the rate of anodic oxidation of A1-3 pct Mg mono-crystals of high purity, certain anomalies were observed on the cold-worked metal. These anomalies were shown to correspond to regions of changed orientation within the grains resulting from plastic deformation.' In fact, they are deformation bands revealed by differences in rate of oxidation and produced by more or less continuous bending of the lattice about a [Ill] axis common to the original crystal and the band.2,3 Preliminary observations made after relatively large degrees of cold working revealed an approximate twin relationship between the bands and the surrounding crystal. Fig. 1 shows the etch figures formed on such a band and on the original monocrystal after a 67 pct rolling reduction. It is evidently not a true twinning, since there is a broad transition zone between the two systems, however the two extreme orientations are nearly in a twin relationship. It was decided to investigate these preliminary observations by progressive rolling-reductions on monocrystals of varied initial orientation. From these studies, which form the subject of the present article, it became apparent that the initial observation of an approximate twin relation between the bands and the monocrystal was simply a special case. Our experiments show that deformation in rolling proceeds by a mechanism analogous to those which have already been observed in the simpler cases of tension and compression. Micrography—in particular, the formation of etch figures—has been applied to the quantitative study of these orientations. In addition, observations have been made of slip lines, of thin oxide films yielding interference colors, of thick films in polarized light, and of etchants giving "engraving." These micrographic methods for studying orientation have established the orientation relationship without any ambiguity, whereas X-ray methods would have given only a statistical result because we were often dealing with thin bands (2 to 100 microns) and even narrower connecting zones covering a maximum of 20 microns. Specimen Preparation and Methods The Al-3 pct Mg alloy was prepared from 99.95 pct A1 and is of the type used industrially in France for brilliant anodized finishes under the name of Brillalumag. This material combines the normal commercial properties with an enduring brilliance due to the protection of a thick, but perfectly transparent, film of alumina.' The monocrystals were prepared by the method of critical deformation followed by prolonged annealing. Great care was taken to insure perfect homogeneity of composition, to eliminate included crystals,6,7 and to avoid the formation of undulations during oxidation. The critical deformation for this alloy is about 1.2 pct (1-l0/10x100) and the subsequent annealing was for one week at 500 °C after gradual increase of temperature (35°C per hr). The crystals thus prepared had a section of 10x5 mm and a length of 20 to 40 mm. Each of these crystals was polished electrolytically and etched for the formation of etch-figures with the classical reagent.' The orientation was then calculated from their angles, as measured with a goniometer microscope.