Some basic aspects of electromagnetic radiation emission during plastic deformation and crack propagation in Cu–Zn alloys

This paper presents some basic aspects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emission during plastic deformation and crack propagation in Cu–Zn alloys. Six parameters, viz. stress intensity factor, elastic strain energy release rate, EMR amplitude (maximum and rms), EMR frequency, and electromagnetic energy release rate, at different percent of zinc content have been analyzed. Results show that EMR parameters increase with increase in zinc up to 30% and then they decrease with higher zinc percentage. Investigations showed that the electromagnetic energy release rate has a direct correlation with the elastic strain energy release rate, which can prove to be a novel technique for the evaluation of fracture toughness. It was further observed that the electromagnetic energy release rate bears a parabolic relation with the ratio of stress at crack tip instability, σ, to the stacking fault energy, Uf, where cross-slip energy is also known to be only a function of (σ/Uf).