Plastic Instability in Amorphous Selenium near its Glass Transition Temperature

Abstract

Deformation behavior of amorphous selenium near its glass transition temperature (31°C) has been investigated by uniaxial compression and nanoindentation creep tests. Cylindrical specimens compressed at high temperatures and low strain rates deform into drum-like shape, while tests at low temperatures and high strain rates lead to fragmentation. These results agree nicely with the stress exponent and kinetic activation parameters extracted from the nanoindentation creep tests by using a similarity analysis. The dependence of deformation modes on temperature and strain rate is understood as a consequence of material instability and strain localization in the rate-dependent solids.