Correlation of stacking fault energy with deformation mechanism in Cu–(2,20)Zn alloys

Copper–zinc alloys with different zinc contents contain different stacking fault energies (SFE). The influence of SFE on the deformation mechanism during surface mechanical attrition treatment was studied in this work. Research results indicate that the deformation mechanism directly correlated with the SFE in Cu–Zn alloys. Deformation twinning plays a paramount role during original deformation in Cu–20Zn (19 mJ/m²). However, for Cu–2Zn alloy with low-medium SFE (38 mJ/m²), the deformation mechanism is dominated by the dislocation slipping. Microbands are the predominant microstructural features in large strain and high strain rate regions for both Cu–Zn alloys in the present study. They are likely to be formed by the splitting of the high-density dislocation walls.