Investigation of Kinematics of the Portevin--Le Chatelier Deformation Bands with Dynamic Digital Speckle Pattern Interferometry

The Portevin--Le Chatelier (PLC) effect with typical temporal instabilities in the recorded stress is closely associated with local inhomogeneities of deformation. By employing the dynamic digital speckle pattern interferometry technology, the characterizations for the PLC deformation bands of type A (continuous propagation along the specimen), type B (''hopping'' propagation along the specimen) and type C (random nucleation in the sample) were distinctly clarified. The corresponding positions of deformation bands were traced throughout the whole tensile process. By systemic experiments, the range of the applied strain rates for each type of bands existing was investigated respectively. The evolution of the band velocity (for types A and B) was also statistically investigated and qualitatively interpreted.