Strain hardening in polycrystalline copper

Abstract

Strain hardening in polycrystalline copper is shown to be the net result of two competing processes: (i) a basic process of strain hardening which occurs during deformation under a wide range of experimental conditions, and (ii) ‘dynamic recovery’ which removes a proportion of the obstacles produced during deformation. Arguments are presented which suggest that the basic process would give a linear rate of hardening but for an effect which occurs at high obstacle densities; this effect is also responsible for variation of the Cottrell–Stokes ratio at high degrees of hardening.