Viscous Drag on Dislocations at High Strain Rates in Copper

Abstract

The mechanical behavior of OFHC copper at strain rates from 10−3 to 103 sec−1 at 300°, 420°, and 590°K was investigated. The strain rate behavior of copper can be divided into two regions. Below 10 sec−1 the dislocation motion is thermally activated over forest dislocation barriers. Above 103 sec−1, a linear relationship between stress and strain rate was observed indicating the presence of a viscous damping mechanism. The stress level τB that must be exceeded in order to obtain viscous behavior depends on the work-hardened state of the copper. The mobile dislocation density in the viscous damping region was found to be (1) independent of strain rate, (b) only a small fraction (10−5) of the total dislocation density, (c) independent of strain, and (d) increased with increasing temperature. These deductions are discussed in terms of the dislocation multiplication and annihilation mechanism.