Statistics of the Catastrophic Slip Events in the Portevin–Le Châtelier Effect

M. A. Lebyodkin; Y. Brechet; Y. Estrin; L. P. Kubin

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4758

Statistics of the Catastrophic Slip Events in the Portevin–Le Châtelier Effect

M. A. Lebyodkin, Y. Brechet, Y. Estrin, and L. P. Kubin

Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 4758 – Published 5 June 1995

Abstract

The statistics of catastrophic slip associated with discontinuous yielding (the Portevin–Le Châtelier effect) is investigated on an Al-Mg alloy. It is shown that a peaked distribution of stress drops changes towards a monotonic one, characterized by a power law with an exponent of $-$ 1.1, with increasing temperature and rate of straining. A model describing this behavior is studied, and it is suggested that there exists a formal similarity of the governing equations with those describing instabilities in frictional sliding. The use of discontinuous yielding in a tensile Al-Mg specimen is proposed as a candidate for modeling of earthquake statistics on a crustal fault.

Received 3 June 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4758

Authors & Affiliations

M. A. Lebyodkin¹, Y. Brechet², Y. Estrin³, and L. P. Kubin⁴

¹Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142432 Chernogolovka, Moscow District, Russia
²Laboratoire de Thermodynamique et Phisico-Chimie Metallurgiques, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, B.P. 75, 38402 Saint Martin d'Heres Cedex, France
³Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6009 Western Australia, Australia
⁴Laboratoire d'Etudes des Microstructures, CNRS/ONERA (OM), B.P. 72, 92322 Châtillon Cedex, France