Heterogeneous deformation in single-phase zircaloy 2

Abstract

Deformed single-phase Zircaloy 2 shows a clear pattern of heterogeneous deformation. The deformed mierostructures could be generalized as grains/orientations which got fragmented and those which did not. The presence of deformation twinning, observed only at low strains, does not explain this phenomenon, which existed even at relatively higher (200-600 degrees C) deformation temperatures where deformation twinning is absent. The source of this heterogeneous deformation appears to exist in the frame-work of differences in dislocations interactions at different crystallographic orientations. Though the exact source/origin of the heterogeneous deformation can still be debated, its effects on the deformed mierostructures were apparent in terms of clear bi-modal distributions in grain size, in in-grain misorientation developments and in the patterns of stored energy of cold work and residual stress.