Determination of strain localization in aluminum alloys using laser-induced photoelectron emission

Uniaxial tensile deformation of oxidized aluminum produces low work-function patches of fresh metal which can be probed by measurements of photoelectron emission during exposure to ultraviolet light. We report measurements of photoelectron emission during uniaxial testing of polycrystalline Al(1200), Al–Mn(3003), Al–Mg(5052), and Al–Mg–Si(6061) alloys where the broad face of the gauge section is exposed to pulsed excimer laser radiation s248 nmd. We show that strain localization alters the distribution of fresh surface metal produced by subsequent deformation. The transition from more homogenous deformation to the principally localized deformation associated with shear bands is associated with a discontinuity in the growth rate of photoelectron intensities versus time. At this transition, the rate of fresh metal production along the illuminated portion of gauge section decreases. In all four materials, the strain at the discontinuity is somewhat below the strain given by the Considère criterion, consistent with the role of microstructural effects in strain localization. We suggest that these photoelectron measurements constrain quantitative models of strain localization. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1814420]