Number of active slip systems in polycrystalline brass: Implications for ductility in other structures

Abstract

Etching of freshly cut surfaces in deformed polycrystalline brass allows the number of active slip planes to be counted and limits to be placed on the number of active slip systems in interior grains. For all strains and grain sizes tested, fewer than 5 independent slip systems were active in about 40% of the grains; therefore the von Mises demand for 5 slip systems for uniform deformation does not apply. The interpretation here is that deformation is nonuniform even within confined grains in a polycrystal. The implications for polycrystalline deformation in other crystal structures are briefly considered.