Subsurface deformation in surface mechanical attrition processes

A modified expanding cavity model (M-ECM) is developed to describe subsurface deformation for strain-hardening materials loaded in unit deformation configurations occurring in surface mechanical attrition. The predictive results of this model are validated by comparison with unit deformation experiments in a model material, oxygen free high conductivity copper, using a custom designed plane strain deformation setup. Subsurface displacement and strain fields are characterized using in-situ digital image correlation. It is shown that conventional analytical models used to describe plastic response in strain-hardening metals are not able to predict important characteristics of the morphology of the plastic zone, including evolution of the dead metal zone (DMZ), especially at large plastic depths. The M-ECM developed in the present study provides an accurate prediction of the strain distribution obtained in experiment and is of utility as a component in multi-stage process models of the final surface state in surface mechanical attrition.