Outline

• Hardness Testing
• Origins of Plastic Deformation
• Slip and Dislocations
• Edge, Screw and Mixed Dislocation
• Dislocation movement
 HARDNESS
Hardness is a measure of the material’s resistance to localized
plastic deformation (e.g. dent or scratch)

Qualitative Hardness:
 Moh’s scale, determined by the ability of a material to scratch
another material:
from 1 (softest = talc) to 10 (hardest = diamond)

Quantitative Hardness:
 Different types of quantitative hardness test has been designed
• Rockwell
Brinell
• ………..
Vickers
• ………..
Knoop
• ………..
 HARDNESS
•A small indenter (sphere, cone, or
Brinell

pyramid)
•Forced into the surface of a material

Vickers
under conditions of controlled
magnitude and rate of loading.
Knoop

• The depth or size of indentation is

measured.
Rockwell

• The tests are popular because they are

easy and non-destructive (except for the
small dent).
Brinell Test
Where,
P (the applied load) is in kg,
D is the indenter's diameter
d is the diameter of the resulting indentation
 Brinell Hardness Testing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe
r_detailpage&v=RJXJpeH78iU
 Vickers Hardness Testing
video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla
yer_detailpage&v=RJXJpeH78iU
 Correlation between Hardness and Tensile Strength

• Both tensile strength and

hardness are a measure of
a materials resistance to
plastic deformation
……………………….

⇒ expect a correlation
⇒ For BRINELL TEST
TS (MPa) = 3.45 x HB
TS (psi) = 500 x HB

NB: Brinell ≈ Vickers

 Plastic Deformation

 Why metals can be plastically deformed?

 Why the mechanical properties change by forging
or rolling without alloying?
 Why plastic deformation occurs at stresses that are
much smaller than the theoretical strength of perfect
crystals?
 Why the force to break all bonds is much higher
than the force needed to cause plastic deformation?

Plastic deformation is due to the motion of a large

number of dislocations
 Theoretical vs. Experimental Mech properties

When compared to experimental shear yield strengths, common

metals are 1000 to 10,000 times weaker than theory predicts.
Theoretical Shear Strength, τTH ≈ G/2π to ≈ G/30 depending on method.
 Strength of a Perfect Crystals
If we have a material without dislocations (i.e. SLIP
cannot occur)!!
Nearest example is a single crystal whisker 1-20 microns
in diameter
Is the strength closer to the theoretical value?

Quite but close; only

x10 not x10,000.
 Dislocations
• Dislocations result from solidification from the melt, from
mechanical work (e.g., rolling, forging, drawing, compressive impact,
tensile or shear stress), or from thermal stresses
• It is very difficult to prepare a dislocation-free crystal!!!
• 2 Types:
Edge Dislocations
• ……………………
Screw Dislocations
• …………………….
• Think of edge dislocation as an
extra half-plane of atoms inserted in
a crystal.
• Misalignment of atomic planes due
to the extra half plane.
Described by ⊥ symbol. Edge Dislocation
Burger's vector (b) = magnitude + direction of lattice distortion.
 Dislocations

“a” is the lattice constant

“b” is the Burgers vector

SLIP
Burger's vector, b, describes magnitude and direction of ……….
Burger's circuit is around section of crystal that includes a
dislocation shows its Burger's vector (a vector needed to close
circuit)
In a perfect crystal Burger's circuit closes itself
 Dislocations allow deformation at much
lower stress than in a perfect crystal

Bonds along slip plane break consecutively not simultaneously

– less energy is required but with same end result.
The movement of the dislocation (to the right in this sequence) requires
the breaking (and formation) of only ONE set of bonds per step.

Dislocations move in close-packed directions on close-

or closest- packed planes (lowest energy or stress
required)
 Caterpillar or Rug Analogy

• The caterpillar would require a large force (energy) to slide

its complete body along
• it is much easier for it to move one part of its body at a time
• this analogous to the shearing of the lattice by movement of
an edge dislocation
• another analogy is the sliding of a rug across a floor
 Dislocations
• dislocations are intrinsic defects
like vacancies
• dislocation density is the total
dislocation length/unit volume
• units: mm/mm3 or mm-2
– annealed metal: 105-106 mm-2
– deformed: 109-1010 mm-2

• atoms above slip plane are in

compression
• atoms below slip plane are in Regions of compression (dark) and
tension tension (colored) located around an
positive edge dislocation.
• creates a strain field around the
dislocation
• dislocations contain stored energy
 Dislocation Interaction

• dislocations can either repel or

+ve attract one another
repulsion • depends on orientation or sign
(positive or negative)
• dislocations multiply during
plastic deformation
+ve + -ve → 0
• important since deformation
increases dislocation density
→ work hardening
attraction • this is a strengthening
mechanism

Two extra half-planes will align and become a complete plane

 Movement of Dislocations
Under applied shear stress, dislocations can move by
breaking bonds CONSECUTIVELY (rather than
simultaneously).
Requires less energy, (reason why measured Shear
Strength is lower).
Deformation by dislocations movement is called SLIP.
• The combination of Slip Plane and Slip Direction is called a:
slip system
…………...

Recall:
SLIP SYSTEMS DEPEND ON
THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
OF THE MATERIAL!
 Slip Systems

The more slip systems available, the easier it is for dislocations to

move, which is why FCC and BCC metals are more ductile than
HCP metals.
number of slip systems increases with temperature, so
HCP metals → more ductile at high temperature
 Dislocation Climb

Edge dislocations can move “out” of the

slip plane by non-conservative motion.
Requires diffusion of vacancies to bottom
of extra 1/2 plane thus dislocation
CLIMBS to a higher SLIP plane.
Thermally activated process (diffusion +
number of vacancies) so usually only
important at high temps. > 0.5 Tm (K)
Dislocation climb involving Important in “creep”
vacancy diffusion to edge
dislocation allowing climb from
plane A to plane B.
 Dislocation Climb

atoms leave the dislocation atoms are attached to the

line to create interstitials or to dislocation line by creating
fill vacancies vacancies or eliminating
interstitials
 SCREW Dislocation:
TOP VIEW

Spiral within the lattice structure

wrapped around an imperfection line,
like a screw is wrapped around its axis

• Crystal is "cut through halfway and then slides sideways“

helical path through structure hence “screw”.
• The motion of a screw dislocation can be thought of in terms of tearing a
sheet of paper.
 SCREW Dislocation: Movement

• The motion of a screw dislocation is also a result of shear stress.

- Motion is perpendicular to direction of stress (parallel for
edge).
- However, the net plastic deformation of both edge and
screw dislocations is the same.
 SCREW Dislocation: CROSS_SLIP

Because Burgers vector, b and

dislocation are parallel there is no
fixed SLIP plane.
Screw dislocations move on planes
with low resistance to dislocation
Note that AB is
movement.
parallel to b.
Can change planes by CROSS-SLIP

Cross-slip of a screw dislocation x-y from (a) plane A to (b) plane B

to (c) plane A. Slip always occurs in direction of Burgers vector, b.

So screw dislocations are more mobile than edge dislocations.

 Screw vs. Edge Dislocations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aFgLJcVyaQ&feature=youtu.be
 Mixed Dislocations

Usually, real dislocation lines have

3D
both an edge and a screw character; view
i.e., they are mixed dislocations:

• very unusual to find pure edge or

pure screw dislocations
Top
• Mixed dislocations create loops view
 Mixed Dislocations and Dislocation LOOPS

Segment of mixed dislocation Complete dislocation loop

Curved dislocations containing both edge and screw components

For a full dislocation loop in (b):
Front plus back are (+ve) and (-ve) edge (A & B)
Sides are LH + RH screw (C & D)
Acting shear stress expands loop radially (grows outwards)