Abstract
The elastic modulus and internal friction of silver irradiated by electrons in the temperature range 9-300 K have been studied. The first pinning stage for the dislocations appears between 25-50 K and is attributed to the long range migration of free interstitials. Following irradiations at temperatures greater than or equal to 80 K, the peaking effect has been observed and its characteristics studied as a function of the temperature of irradiation, strain ampli- tude, instantaneous flux of electrons and the purity of the samples. The results are critically compared with the various theories of the peaking effect.