EFFECT OF STRUCTURE TRANSFORMATION ON THE WORK-HARDENING CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAD-BASED BEARING ALLOYS

The stress-strain characteristics of a lead-based bearing alloy contai ning Pb-10 wt% Sn are studied in the temperature range from 393 to 453 K. The coefficient of work hardening, the yield stress, the fracture stress, and fracture time generally decrease with increasing working t emperature, while the total strain and dislocation slip distance incre ase with increasing working temperature. The two observed temperature regions around 423 K which characterize the magnitude of variation of these parameters point to two fracture mechanisms activated with 25 an d 48 kJ/mol for the low and high temperature region, respectively. The microstructure of the samples under investigation was examined after stress-strain deformation by X-rays.