Plastic deformation mechanisms in tungsten carbide

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy studies of dislocations formed by plastic deformation in tungsten carbide have confirmed a slip deformation mechanism involving the {1 0 ¯1 0} 〈0 0 0 1〉 system. Direct visual evidence also confirmed the existence of extended dislocations formed by a suggested dissociation 1/3〈1 1 ¯2 3〉=1/6〈2 0 ¯2 3〉+1/6〈0 2 ¯2 3〉 which can further interact with other extended dislocations on pairs of intersecting {1 1 ¯2 2} pyramidal planes. The proposed interaction is suggested as a means of reducing both dislocation strain energy and atomic misfit strains due to antiphase boundary formation and leads to a form of sessile dislocation arrangement similar to the Lomer Cottrell lock.