Nondestructive Techniques for Characterization of Microstructural Evolution during Low Cycle Fatigue of Cu and Cu-Zn Alloy

The object of this study is to evaluate and discriminate nondestructively the dislocation substructures of Cu and Cu-Zn alloy subjected to the low-cycle-fatigue. The ultrasonic wave velocity, electrical resistivity and positron annihilation lifetime(PAL) were measured to the nondestructive testing. Cyclic fatigue test of Cu and Cu-Zn alloy with much different stacking fault energies was conducted and the correlations between dislocation behavior and nondestructive parameters were studied. Dislocation cell substructure was developed in Cu, while planar array of dislocation structure was developed in Cu-35Zn alloy only increasing dislocation density with fatigue cycles. Decrease in ultrasonic wave velocity, increase in electrical resistivity and PAL were shown because of the development of lattice defects, dislocations and vacancies, by cyclic fatigue at room temperature. In contrast to Cu-Zn alloy of the planar-array dislocation substructure showing continuous changes in the nondestructive parameters, it does not make any noticeable changes in the nondestructive parameters after the evolution of dislocation cell substructure in Cu