Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
In situ straining experiments on NiAl, NiAl-0.2at% Ta, γ-TiAl, and MoSi2 in a high-voltage electron microscope showed a transition from the obstacle controlled dislocation motion or the Peierls mechanism at low temperatures to either an unstable or viscous motion at high temperatures. It is suggested that the viscous motion is due to the formation of point defect atmospheres around the dislocations, which cause additional drag and may be responsible for the flow stress anomaly in some of these materials. The atmospheres may be of an extrinsic or an intrinsic nature. A new model is proposed for the origin of intrinsic atmospheres assuming that the energy of a dislocation in an intermetallic alloy may be lowest if the dislocations contain a number of point defects in their core. The dragging of atmospheres may lead to an “inverse” dependence of the strain rate sensitivity on the strain rate, as observed experimentally. The macroscopic deformation data of the studied materials are discussed in terms of the model.