The temperature dependence of the flow stress of Cu3Au at low temperatures

Abstract

Compression flow stress measurements were made on well-ordered single crystals of Cu₃Au over the temperature range 4° to 300°K. These tests showed that the temperature dependence of the yield stress in Cu₃Au below 200°K is similar to that observed in pure f.c.c. metals. These results differed widely from results in the literature on polycrystalline samples. Further tests on both well-ordered and fully disordered polycrystalline samples confirmed the similarity in behaviour between well-ordered Cu₃Au and pure f.c.c. metals at low temperatures. It is suggested that the results in the literature show an anomalously high temperature dependence due to impurities in the material.