Internal friction in quenched gold

Abstract

The low frequency internal friction and elastic modulus of quenched gold wire are measured in the temperature range − 140 to 25°C. Potentiometric measurements are made to measure the concentration of quenched-in defects and the amount of deformation done in the quenching process. An internal friction peak is found at − 110°C when hard drawn gold is quenched from 700°C. An internal friction peak is found at − 45°C when hard drawn gold is quenched from 700°C or when well annealed gold is slightly deformed during the quenching process during a high temperature quench. Deformation after the quench is found to reduce the size of this peak. A third peak is seen in the temperature range − 35 to − 15°C. This peak is produced after quenches from above 800°C with very little deformation either during or after the quench. The magnitude and position of this peak are evidently structure sensitive. The peaks found in quenched gold are compared with those found in heavily deformed gold, and models are proposed which relate the peaks to the interactions between dislocations and point defects.