Microstructure-sensitive modelling of dislocation creep in polycrystalline FCC alloys: Orowan theory revisited

A new approach for modelling dislocation creep during primary and secondary creep in FCC metals is proposed. The Orowan equation and dislocation behaviour at the grain scale are revisited to include the effects of different microstructures such as the grain size and solute atoms. Dislocation activity is proposed to follow a jog-diffusion law. It is shown that the activation energy for cross-slip E_cs controls dislocation mobility and the strain increments during secondary creep. This is confirmed by successfully comparing E_cs with the experimentally determined activation energy during secondary creep in 5 FCC metals. It is shown that the inverse relationship between the grain size and dislocation creep is attributed to the higher number of strain increments at the grain level dominating their magnitude as the grain size decreases. An alternative approach describing solid solution strengthening effects in nickel alloys is presented, where the dislocation mobility is reduced by dislocation pinning around solute atoms. An analysis on the solid solution strengthening effects of typical elements employed in Ni-base superalloys is also discussed. The model results are validated against measurements of Cu, Ni, Ti and 4 Ni-base alloys for wide deformation conditions and different grain sizes.