Athermal Solid Solution Hardening in Tantalum

Abstract

The influence of solute atoms on the athermal component of the flow stress, determined by means of dip-tests (incremental unloading), has been investigated at room temperature and slightly above in binary Ta-Re, Ta-Mo, Ta-W, Ta-Hf, Ta-Zr, and Ta-Nb alloys and in ternary Ta-W-Re, Ta-W-Mo, Ta-W-Hf, and Ta-W-Nb alloys. Binary athermal substitutional solid solution hardening in tantalum is linear up to high concentrations of solute and is dominated by the atomic size misfit parameter, in agreement with the authors’ recent model for binary athermal solid solution hardening in bcc metals at temperatures where the Peierls stress is still important. In this model, solid solution hardening is caused by interactions of solute atoms having a size misfit with polarity reversing kinks and constrictions in 〈111〉 screw dislocations. The observed solid solution hardening in the ternary alloys is well described by the authors’ phenomenological model for multicomponent solid solution hardening.