EBSD analysis of plastic deformation of copper foils by flexible pad laser shock forming

摘要

Flexible pad laser shock forming (FPLSF) is a new mold-free microforming process that induces high-strain-rate plastic deformation in thin metallic foils using laser-induced shock pressure and a hyperelastic flexible pad. This paper studies the plastic deformation behavior of copper foils formed through FPLSF by investigating surface hardness and microstructure. The microstructure of the foil surface before and after FPLSF is analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction technique using grain size distribution and grain boundary misorientation angle as analysis parameters. The surface hardness of the craters experienced a significant improvement after FPLSF; the top crater surface being harder than the bottom surface. The microstructure of the copper foil surface after FPLSF was found to be dominated by grain elongation, along with minor occurrences of subgrain formation, grain refinement, and high dislocation density regions. The results indicate that the prominent plastic deformation mechanism in FPLSF is strain hardening behavior rather than the typical adiabatic softening effect known to be occurring at high-strain-rates for processes such as electromagnetic forming, explosive forming, and laser shock forming. This significant difference in FPLSF is attributed to the concurrent reduction in plastic strain, strain rate, and the inertia effects, resulting from the FPLSF process configuration. Correspondingly, different deformation behaviors are experienced at top and bottom surfaces of the deformation craters, inducing the change in surface hardness and microstructure profiles.