Dislocation structures of monocrystalline copper during corrosion fatigue in 0.1 M perchloric acid

Abstract

We have studied the dislocation structures of single crystals of copper cycled in 0.1 M perchloric acid and under different polarization potentials. TEM samples were cut from representative specimens both after saturation and after fracture. Although much higher strain localization was observed in the crystals cycled at anodic potentials, the dislocation structures observed were very similar to those of specimens tested at cathodic potentials and in air. For a plastic shear strain amplitude of 2×10⁻³, regular loop patches and dipolar walls were observed. For a higher strain amplitude of 4×10⁻³, dipolar walls associated with secondary slip were found in addition to regular primary walls. We believe this structure to be associated with breaking the primary persistent slip bands (PSB's) into truncated groups, of which the truncations were lined up along the traces of the secondary slip plane. Dislocation structures observed after final fracture of the crystals were different from those formed by cycling just into saturation; dipolar walls formed first and cell structures developed later. Thus, we confirmed the transition of dipolar walls into cells, reported by other investigators. Moreover, the transition of loop patches into “rungs” structure, the embryo of the PSB, was also observed in the late stages of life.