The deformation and fracture mechanism in 7075 aluminum alloy is discussed based on a field theoretical approach. A pair of peak-aged and overaged plate specimens are prepared under the respective precipitation conditions, and their plastic deformation behaviors are visualized with two-dimensional electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). The in-plane velocity field caused by monotonic tensile loading is monitored continuously via the contour analysis method of ESPI. In the plastic regime, the peak-aged specimen exhibits a macroscopically uniform deformation behavior, while the annealed specimen exhibits non-uniform deformation characterized by a localized shear band. The occurrence of the shear band is explained by the transition of the material's elastic resistive mechanism from the longitudinal force dominant to shear force dominant mode. The shear force is interpreted as the frictional force that drives mobile dislocations along the shear band. The dynamic behavior of the shear band is explained as representing the motion of a solitary wave. The observed decrease in the solitary wave's velocity is accounted for by the change in the acoustic impedance with the advancement of plastic deformation.
Keywords: 7075 aluminum alloy; deformation and fracture; electronic speckle pattern interferometry; field theory.