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Relationship between yield point phenomena and the nanoindentation pop-in behavior of steel

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Abstract

Pop-ins on nanoindentation load–displacement curves of a ferritic steel were correlated with yield drops on its tensile stress–strain curves. To investigate the relationship between these two phenomena, nanoindentation and tensile tests were performed on annealed specimens, prestrained specimens, and specimens aged for various times after prestraining. Clear nanoindentation pop-ins were observed on annealed specimens, which disappeared when specimens were indented right after the prestrain, but reappeared to varying degrees after strain aging. Yield drops in tensile tests showed similar disappearance and appearance, indicating that the two phenomena, at the nano- and macro-scale, respectively, are closely related and influenced by dislocation locking by solutes (Cottrell atmospheres).

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2010-0018936). CSO is thankful for the support by a grant from the Fundamental R&D Program for Core Technology of Materials funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Republic of Korea. EPG was supported by the Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Iron and Steel Research, RIAM, Seoul National University, Kwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea

    Tae-Hong Ahn & Heung Nam Han

  2. Advanced Materials Research and Implementation Center, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon, 641-831, Republic of Korea

    Chang-Seok Oh

  3. Technical Research Laboratories, POSCO, Kwangyang, Jeonnam, 545-090, Republic of Korea

    Kyooyoung Lee

  4. Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831, USA

    Easo P. George

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  1. Tae-Hong Ahn
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Correspondence to Heung Nam Han.

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Ahn, TH., Oh, CS., Lee, K. et al. Relationship between yield point phenomena and the nanoindentation pop-in behavior of steel. Journal of Materials Research 27, 39–44 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.208

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