Role of Persistent Slip Bands and Persistent Slip Markings in Fatigue Crack Initiation in Polycrystals

The cyclic plastic deformation of polycrystals leads to the inhomogeneous distribution of the cyclic plastic strain. The cyclic plastic strain is concentrated in thin bands, called persistent slip bands (PSBs). The dislocation structure of these bands generally differs from the matrix structure and is characterized by alternating dislocation-rich and dislocation-poor regions. The mechanisms of the dislocation motion in the PSBs and the formation of the point defects and their migration are quantitatively described. It is shown that, due to localized cyclic plastic straining in the PSBs, persistent slip markings (PSMs) are produced where the PSBs emerge on the surface. They typically consist of a central extrusion accompanied by one or two parallel intrusions. The deep intrusion is equivalent to the crack-like surface defect. The concentration of the cyclic strain in the tip of an intrusion leads to intragranular fatigue crack initiation. The mechanism of the early crack growth in the primary slip plane is proposed and discussed. Numerous PSMs are produced on the surface of the cyclically loaded materials. PSMs contribute to the formation of the surface relief, as well as the relief on the grain boundary. PSMs from one grain impinging the grain boundary are sufficient to create sharp relief on the grain boundary. Void-like defects weaken the grain boundary cohesion and extra material push both grains locally apart. The conditions necessary for the weakening of the grain boundary are enumerated and examples of grain boundary crack initiations are shown. The relevant parameters affecting grain boundary initiation are identified and discussed. The collected experimental evidence and analysis is mostly based on the papers published by the author and his colleagues in the Institute of Physics of Materials in Brno.

Automated summary

The cyclic plastic deformation of polycrystals leads to the concentration of cyclic plastic strain in persistent slip bands (PSBs) which have different dislocation structure compared to the matrix. The formation of point defects, their migration, and the mechanics of dislocation motion in PSBs are quantitatively described. The localized cyclic plastic straining in PSBs results in the production of persistent slip markings (PSMs) on the surface. These PSMs contribute to surface relief and grain boundary relief, as well as the initiation of intragranular fatigue cracks and grain boundary cracks.