Influence of a superconducting transition on the macroscopic characteristics of the plasticity of metals and alloys: Fundamental and applied aspects (Review)

Abstract

The results of observations and investigations of a new phenomenon—changes in the macroscopic characteristics of plastic the deformation of metals and alloys at a superconducting transition—are systematized. In these works it is shown for the first time that the electronic drag of dislocations accompanying low-temperature deformation is effective. The main experimental features of the phenomenon—the dependences of the characteristics of the change in plasticity at a superconducting transition on the stress, deformation, temperature, deformation rate, and concentration of the alloying element in the superconductor—and results indicating a correlation between the characteristics of the effect and the superconducting properties are presented. Experiments clarifying the mechanisms of the phenomenon are analyzed. A brief exposition of the theoretical investigations of the electronic drag of dislocations in metals in the normal and superconducting states and the influence of a superconducting transition on the plasticity is given. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental results. Examples of the application of the effect as a new method for investigating the physical mechanisms of low-temperature plastic deformation are presented. The applied aspects of the phenomenon are discussed separately.