Serrated flow related to shearing of particles in binary Al–Li single crystals

Serrated flow was investigated in binary Al–Li single crystals treated from naturally aged to overaged conditions. Serrations were observed during the deformation of crystals in artificially aged conditions, but not in naturally aged condition. The number of serrations with small stress drops as well as short elapsed time increases in peak-aged condition as compared to underaged or overaged conditions. It is indicated that shearing of δ′ particles plays a key role in the discontinuous deformation of Al–Li single crystals.