Kinetics of Solute Flow to Partial Dislocation in Cu–3.4 At.% Sb

Abstract

The kinetics of solute segregation to partial dislocations in a Cu–3.4 At.% Sb alloy was studied by using a phenomenological approach with differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal calorimetry. The material, severely deformed by repeated bending, presented an excess of dissociated edge dislocations with a dislocation density amounting to about 8.5·10¹⁴ m⁻², calculated using a prior model of the authors, together with calorimetric recrystallization trace analysis. The kinetics was found to be ruled by two overlapping mechanisms: diffusion of solute atoms mostly through dislocation pipes in the initial and middle stages of the reaction process, acting together with bulk solute diffusion in these stages and later. Bulk solute diffusion increases as the reaction proceeds, as shown by the increasing values of apparent activation energy in the reaction. The exponent of the Mehl-Johnson-Avrami equation used in the phenomenological description was successfully fitted to a time—temperature-dependent function, increasing in agreement with the apparent activation energy behaviour, as may be expected.