Microscopic Observation of Tensile Deformation Behavior of Polycrystalline Titanium with Scanning Probe Microscope

The change in the surface morphology of polycrystalline titanium during tensile plastic deformation is studied, using the scanning probe microscope as well as the laser scanning microscope. The observation shows that the slip occurs mainly near grain boundary at the strain range of ε < 0.05. The slip develops with the applied strain, and the slip on the second slip system or the crossing of slip lines appear. The surface roughness increases linearly with the applied strain. The height difference between the grain boundary area and the inner grain area also increases with the applied strain, though the increase rate becomes low after the applied strain of about 0.3. The nano-scale height difference of the surface step of slip lines increases with the applied strain, though it remains almost constant after the applied strain of 0.4. The averaged surface roughness measured with the scanning probe microscope is in good agreement with that measured with the laser scanning microscope.