Gripping Prospective of Non-Shear Flows under High-Pressure Torsion

The article presents a theoretical study of the regimes of high-pressure torsion (HPT) for which slippage of the deforming material on the interfaces with anvils is possible. The approach taken is a generalisation of the currently accepted view of the HPT process. It enables a rational explanation of its salient features and the effects observed experimentally. These include a lag in the rotation angle of the specimen behind that of the anvils, an outflow of the material from the deformation zone, enhancement in gripping the specimen with anvils with increasing axial pressure, etc. A generalised condition for gripping the specimen with anvils, providing a basis for an analytical investigation of the HPT deformation at a qualitative level, is established. The results of the analytical modelling are supported by finite-element calculations. It is shown that for friction stress below the shear stress of the specimen material (i.e., for the friction factor m < 1), plastic deformation is furnished by non-shear flows, which expands the range of possible process regimes. The potential of these flow modes is impressive, which is reflected in the second meaning of the word “gripping” in the title of the article. Non-shear flows manifest themselves in the spreading of the material over the anvil surfaces whose cessation signifies the end of deformation and the beginning of slippage of the specimen as a whole. The model shows that for m < 1 such a finale is inevitable at any axial pressure. It predicts, however, that the highest achievable strain is increased when the axial pressure is raised in the course of the HPT process. Unlimited deformation of the specimen is only possible for m = 1, when slippage of the deforming material relative to the anvils is suppressed.