Hao Gu , Qun Yu , Zhibao Xie , Charlie Kong , M.W. Fu , Hailiang Yu
{"title":"Achieving superior thermal stability in an Al-Mg-Mn-Sc alloy by suppressing Al3(Sc, Zr) phase aggregation subjected to cryogenic homogeneous deformation","authors":"Hao Gu , Qun Yu , Zhibao Xie , Charlie Kong , M.W. Fu , Hailiang Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanometer precipitates are essential for enhancing high specific strength in aluminum alloys, yet their coarsening at elevated temperatures causes severe property degradation. Recently, second-phase engineering for tailoring precipitate size and spatial distribution in the matrix has become a recent research hotspot. Here, we report that cryorolling (CR) refines and homogenizes Al<sub>3</sub>(Sc,Zr) precipitates in an Al-Mg alloy containing scandium and zirconium, yielding exceptional thermal stability and mechanical performance. Crystal plasticity simulations were carried out for cryogenic and room-temperature deformation behaviors, which reveal that CR promotes a more coordinated strain distribution, accumulation of high-density dislocations under high stress and stress gradient, activation of hard-oriented slip systems, and coordinated operation of multiple slip systems, resulting in a more uniform deformation path than room-temperature rolling (RTR). The resulting precipitate refinement and uniform deformation minimize spatial clustering of Al<sub>3</sub>(Sc,Zr), suppressing short-range diffusion of Sc and Zr and retarding the coarsening kinetics of Al<sub>3</sub>(Sc,Zr). After annealing at 480 °C for 1 h, the average particle size of the Al₃(Sc,Zr) phase in the CR samples remained essentially unchanged. In contrast, the Al₃(Sc,Zr) phase in the RTR samples underwent significant coarsening, exhibiting an average particle size 71 % larger than that in the CR samples. Because Al<sub>3</sub>(Sc,Zr) impedes grain-boundary migration and dislocation climb at elevated temperatures, the fine-grained microstructure and high dislocation density in the CR material are retained, leading to superior thermal stability during annealing. This study demonstrates a promising route for enhancing the thermal stability of high-strength aluminum alloys that is readily scalable to industrial production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104452"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144851565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J.R. Deng , C.F. Xu , X.Q. Zhang , M.Q. Jiang , X.C. Tang , X.H. Yao
{"title":"Self-stabilized energy dissipation boundary during shear banding of amorphous solids","authors":"J.R. Deng , C.F. Xu , X.Q. Zhang , M.Q. Jiang , X.C. Tang , X.H. Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104440","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104440","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amorphous alloys possess many desirable physical and mechanical characteristics, but their practical utility is constrained by catastrophic shear banding–a consequence of restricted energy dissipation governed by dual self-stabilized boundaries: (1) energy diffusion boundaries and (2) cluster cooperative motion boundaries. The restricted energy dissipation capacity stems from the finite thickness of shear bands, which defines a self-stabilized energy dissipation boundary during plastic deformation. This research confirmed the existence of characteristic shear band thickness and offered a novel perspective on the performance regulation of amorphous solids by revealing the self-organized stabilization of shear bands through experiments and simulations. Critically, the stabilization mechanism deviates from Stokes–Einstein predictions and follows an Arrhenius-type diffusion process, where the diffusion boundary at the shear band-matrix interface regulates free volume transport. The critical scale of shear band thickness is found to be the best strategy for minimizing energy. This discovery introduces a novel approach to optimize mechanical qualities in various application circumstances by altering material microstructures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104440"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144825335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qiaosheng Xia , Dongpeng Hua , Yeran Shi , Qing Zhou , Bida Zhu , Xiaofei Yu , Haifeng Wang , Weimin Liu
{"title":"Unveiling the dislocation mechanism induced by irradiation defects in austenitic FeCrNi alloy","authors":"Qiaosheng Xia , Dongpeng Hua , Yeran Shi , Qing Zhou , Bida Zhu , Xiaofei Yu , Haifeng Wang , Weimin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the interaction between irradiation defects and gliding dislocations is crucial for achieving strength-ductility synergy in irradiated nuclear structural materials for reactor safety and longevity. Here, we employ MD to investigate irradiation-induced defect formation and their interactions with gliding dislocations in a polycrystalline FeCrNi alloy during tensile deformation. Our findings reveal that stacking faults (SFs) were nucleated from the local stress concentration region on grain boundaries caused by absorbing point defects, and gradually transformed into twin with increasing irradiation dose. The density of sessile stair-rod loops, in contrast to the dynamic equilibrium observed for mobile Shockley loops, exhibits an increasing trend with higher irradiation doses and tends to aggregate into stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT) at the later stages of irradiation. During plastic deformation, in addition to the hindering effect inducing radiation hardening, it was also found that Shockley loop could facilitate double cross-slip of screw dislocations at adjacent crystal planes, which complicates dislocation motion and sustains ductility. Additionally, irradiation-induced voids can trigger dislocation renucleation through interacting with a pair of dislocations with opposite signs, leading to the transformation of SF into nanotwin, thus mitigating ductility loss. These mechanisms driven by 3D grain boundary network and random defect distributions offer novel insights into designing radiation-tolerant polycrystalline FeCrNi alloys for nuclear applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104451"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144819507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yanzhi Peng , Min Song , Caiju Li , Zunyan Xu , Li Fu , Liyuan Liu , Liang Liu , Xiaofeng Chen , Jianhong Yi , Jürgen Eckert
{"title":"Strength and ductility synergy of SiC reinforced aluminum matrix composites through interface replacement strategy","authors":"Yanzhi Peng , Min Song , Caiju Li , Zunyan Xu , Li Fu , Liyuan Liu , Liang Liu , Xiaofeng Chen , Jianhong Yi , Jürgen Eckert","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Introducing intragranular reinforcements plays an important role in improving the strength and ductility of composites. However, it is still a challenge to regulate the distribution of reinforcements in Al matrix composites. In the present work, the surface of nano-SiC<sub>p</sub> coated by a thin layer of amorphous SiO<sub>2</sub> was realized through oxidation treatment to achieve interfacial replacement, which reduces the binding force between the particles by two orders of magnitude. This strategy realizes a uniform dispersion of the nanoparticles in the matrix. The results show that more than 60 % of the oxidized SiC particles (SiC<sub>op</sub>) are distributed inside the grains, while the amount of the raw SiC<sub>p</sub> without oxidation is only 35 %. The presence of an inter-diffusion amorphous interlayer improves the interface bonding between SiC<sub>op</sub> and the aluminum matrix. Due to this unique structure design, the SiC<sub>op</sub>/Al-11Si composites exhibit a simultaneous increase in strength and ductility. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of 9 wt. % SiC<sub>op</sub>/Al-11Si are 273.4 ± 4.6 MPa, 400.8 ± 6.9 MPa and 6.8 ± 0.4 %, respectively. Altogether, this study provides a simple and feasible method for fabricating strong and ductile SiC<sub>p</sub>/Al matrix composites, and provides a conceptual framework for designing other ceramic particle-reinforced metal matrix composites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104450"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144802832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A computational model for simulating thermo-elasto-plastic failures using non-localizing and localizing gradient damage","authors":"Sandipan Baruah, Indra Vir Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104442","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104442","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The conventional strategy for simulating thermo-mechanical failures using localizing gradient damage is based on an elastic material-model. It does not incorporate the physics of plastically-driven failures under combined thermal and mechanical loads. Moreover, the conventional formulation neglects the effect of damage on heat-capacity and avoids certain essential physics-based couplings among the deformations, damage and temperature. Therefore, in this work, a novel computational framework based on non-localizing and localizing gradient damage is developed for simulating thermo-elasto-plastic failure of materials, under the influences of both mechanical and thermal loads. The present strategy is derived from the law of thermodynamic power-balance and the free-energy density function. Unlike previous works, the present framework considers the effect of damage-based degradation on both thermal conductivity and heat-capacity. A new set of constitutive relations for thermo-elasto-plastic damage are developed in incremental form to incorporate the stress fields, local and non-local equivalent plastic strains, damage and temperature. Using these constitutive equations, new formulations of coupled-stiffness matrices and heat-capacity matrices are derived in the context of gradient damage. The cross-influences of damage, temperature and deformation on each other are incorporated through these matrices. The capability of the present framework is demonstrated by solving several examples on thermo-elasto-plastic ductile failures using finite element approach.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104442"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144797126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mingyang Jiao , Zhijia Liu , Jing Tan , Yang Li , Yan Peng , Ruihong Li , Chuanpu Liu , Baodong Shi , Xianhua Chen , Fusheng Pan
{"title":"Anisotropic yield loci and inverse Swift effect in extruded AZ31 Mg alloy under multi–degree-of-freedom torsional–axial non-proportional loading paths","authors":"Mingyang Jiao , Zhijia Liu , Jing Tan , Yang Li , Yan Peng , Ruihong Li , Chuanpu Liu , Baodong Shi , Xianhua Chen , Fusheng Pan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104439","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104439","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The deformation mechanisms of Mg alloy under multi<strong>–</strong>degree-of-freedom axial, torsional, and combined loadings remains critically unclear. This is particularly significant in the case of the anisotropic evolution of yield loci and inverse Swift effect, which are crucial for optimizing the forming technologies for engineering parts. In order to clarify the underlying deformation mechanisms, combined multi–degree-of-freedom axial–torsional non-proportional loading paths are specially designed. The anisotropic evolution of the yield loci and Swift–inverse Swift effects in extruded AZ31 Mg alloys are investigated. The strong loading-path–dependent twinning activities and underlying deformation mechanisms are clarified in detail. The findings reveal that the inverse Swift effect during free rotational tension (FR_Ten) is attributed to the residual shear stress and initial texture heterogeneity, while the spontaneous macroscopic rotation during free rotational compression (FR_Com) is found to originate from the heterogeneous local strain induced by the interactions of the <span><math><mrow><mo>{</mo><mn>10</mn><mover><mn>1</mn><mo>¯</mo></mover><mn>2</mn><mo>}</mo></mrow></math></span> twins. Free end torsion (FE_Tor) pre-straining induces subsequent yield locus (SYL) rotation towards the positive τ axis and expansion along the negative σ axis. The anisotropic Swift–inverse Swift effects are accurately captured by the plastic strain-components on the yield loci. Tensile twinning and basal slip coordinate the plastic deformation under FR_Com-dominated loading paths, owing to the low twin favourability, and the relative activities of non-basal slips under FR_Ten-dominated loading paths are significantly improved. The evolutions of the Swift–inverse Swift effects are determined by elastic pre-loadings, resulting in loading–path-dependent anisotropic evolutions of mechanical responses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104439"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144792291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predicting shear coupling behaviors in disconnection-mediated migration of asymmetrical tilt grain boundaries","authors":"Ruoqi Dang , Yong-Wei Zhang , Huajian Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104441","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104441","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grain boundaries (GBs) play a critical role in determining the mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials. Due to their inherent structural complexity and atomic variability, characterizing the loading response of GBs can be highly challenging. Disconnections, a type of line defects at GBs, have been widely used to model the migration of GBs under shear and has been extensively validated through experiments. While this approach has proven effective for symmetrical tilt grain boundaries (STGBs), it has encountered challenges when modeling asymmetrical tilt grain boundaries (ATGBs). Here, we combine molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with a disconnection-based theoretical model to investigate disconnection-mediated migration of ATGBs in Cu. Our model, which treats an ATGB under shear as a combination of two STGBs, yields predictions in excellent agreement with results from MD simulations for cases undergoing solely disconnection-mediated migration. We further discuss the adaptability of our model across various GB types and temperatures, covering more complex migration mechanisms. This study enhances our understanding of shear-coupled migration of ATGBs and offers potentially useful insights for GB engineering.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 104441"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144786500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The controlled incident dislocation boundaries and cell arrangements promoted multi-variant transformation and enhanced strain-hardening in a metastable ferrous medium entropy alloy","authors":"Jiehua Chen, Yu Li, Linghuan Pang, Binjun Wang, Bin Fu, Yonghui Yang, Xiaoshuai Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104438","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, we introduced and regulated incident dislocation boundaries (IDBs) to tailor cellular structures in a metastable ferrous Fe<sub>50</sub>Mn<sub>30</sub>Co<sub>10</sub>Cr<sub>10</sub> medium-entropy alloy (MEA) through successive cold-warm rolling (CWR). This approach aimed to enhance yield strength (YS) without compromising ductility. Compared to one-step warm rolling (WR), the prior cold deformation introduced a higher density of mobile dislocations and intensified dislocation-dislocation interactions, promoting the formation of finer and more numerous dislocation cells. Both rolled samples exhibited higher YS while maintaining uniform elongation (UEL) levels comparable to those of the dislocation-free as-annealed reference. Notably, the CWR samples demonstrated simultaneous improvements in YS and strain hardening rate (SHR), and reduced mechanical anisotropy, particularly under liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT) deformation. The enhanced YS primarily stems from grain refinement via densely distributed dislocation cells, while the reduced mechanical anisotropy arises from a weakened {001}<111> texture due to dislocation-assisted recrystallization. Although IDBs initially decelerate phase transformation kinetics during early deformation, the refined cell structure in CWR samples facilitates multi-variant nucleation of nano-lamellar ε-laths and microbands, thereby generating dynamic Hall-Petch barriers for strain hardening. Additionally, the elevated flow stress promotes the proliferation of nano-lamellar ε-laths within microbands and enables reversible γ-domain formation at the shear intersection zones of multi-variant ε-laths. Consequently, the CWR-processed MEA achieves a high YS of ∼985 MPa and sustains an exceptional SHR of ∼3.5 GPa at LNT. This study establishes a \"dislocation engineering\" strategy to circumvent the traditional strength-ductility and YS-SHR trade-offs in metastable ferrous MEAs.","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"144 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144786502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenjie Wu, Jinheung Park, Wenzhen Chen, Guowei Zhou, Seo Yeon Jo, Peike Yang, Chao Cui, Wenke Wang, Myoung-Gyu Lee
{"title":"Integrated polycrystalline plasticity–cellular automaton model for microstructure evolution driven by discontinuous dynamic recrystallization during thermo-mechanical processing of magnesium alloys","authors":"Wenjie Wu, Jinheung Park, Wenzhen Chen, Guowei Zhou, Seo Yeon Jo, Peike Yang, Chao Cui, Wenke Wang, Myoung-Gyu Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2025.104437","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, an integrated polycrystalline plasticity model, referred to as the VPSC-dDRX(CA) approach, was developed for the first time by combining the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) framework, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (dDRX) mechanism, and a cellular automaton (CA), to predict the microstructure evolution of magnesium alloys during hot deformation. The model was calibrated using isothermal uniaxial compression tests on as-extruded AZ31B magnesium alloy. Temperature- and strain rate-dependent constitutive relationships were established to describe dislocation density (DD) hardening and dDRX behavior over the range of 523–673 K and 0.001–0.1 s⁻¹. Simulation and experimental results under uniaxial compression showed that higher temperatures and lower strain rates enhanced prismatic slip activity, promoted dDRX, and weakened the <0002>//CD texture. The high accuracy of the proposed multiscale framework is evidenced by grain size errors of less than 5% and texture intensity deviations under 10%. The engineering applicability of the proposed model was illustrated through simulations of multi-directional forging (MDF) and conical-die forward extrusion (CDE), which respectively revealed the path sensitivity and regional heterogeneity of microstructural evolution. The proposed model provides accurate predictions of microstructure and texture evolution under complex deformation conditions, offering a robust framework for assessing region-specific mechanical responses and guiding the design of magnesium alloy forming processes.","PeriodicalId":340,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Plasticity","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144786503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}