Inelastic strain recovery of a dynamically deformed unidirectional Ag-Cu eutectic alloy

In this work we report experimentally observed inelastic recovery within a bulk directionally-cast Ag-Cu eutectic system tailored to possess a high density of incoherent twin interfaces. Incremental high strain-rate compression experiments were performed along the [101] crystallographic direction. Initial loading to a compressive strain of 0.10 was followed by inelastic strain recovery of 0.02-0.035. Further incremental loading saw decreasing inelastic strain recovery with each additional loading increment. Once a total compressive stain of 0.22 was reached there was cessation of inelastic strain recovery. Quasi-static compression and thermal experiments were conducted to elucidate the necessary loading conditions for inelastic recovery to occur in the Ag-Cu material and to provide insight of possible active recovery mechanisms.