Nonlinear response to contact impact on the surface of an aluminum alloy AlMg6 exhibiting the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect

Intermittent plastic flow known as the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect is a pronounced nonlinear phenomenon in a material science. One of the traditional approaches to the study of nonlinear system is to identify and analyze its responses to an external impulsive action. In the present work, the influence of impact indentation on the evolution of the spatio-temporal patterns of localized strain in an AlMg alloy deformed under the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect is studied with using an acoustic emission technique and high-speed video recording of propagating deformation bands. Dynamic and nonlinear responses to impact indentation of the surface of an alloy deformed by uniaxial tension above the conditional yield strength are revealed; the first include high values of dynamic hardness and local strain and loading rates, while the second involve the threshold and multiple nature of the force and acoustic responses. It has been established that there is a threshold impact energy of the indenter at which an induced strain jump of minimum amplitude occurs, accompanied by the formation of bands of macrolocalized plastic deformation. The conditions are established under which the work of plastic deformation during the development of the induced strain jump significantly, by more than two orders of magnitude, exceeds the energy of the initiating impact, which acts only as a trigger for the “premature” release of the elastic energy accumulated in the material before the moment of impact. It is shown that the impact-induced bands of macrolocalized deformation represent a hidden three-dimensional type of erosion damage that reduces the mechanical stability and durability of the alloy. A phenomenological model is proposed for the formation of bands, strain jumps, and bursts of acoustic emission induced by an indenter impact, which qualitatively explains the experimental results obtained in the work.