Analysis of changes in the structural state of the VD1 alloy (Al-Cu-Mg-Mn) under the effect of ion irradiation (Ar+, E = 40 keV) using transmission electron microscopy

It has been established by the method of electron microscopy that the irradiation of the cold-worked aluminum alloy VD1 of the Al-Cu-Mg-Mn system by Ar+ ions with an energy of 40 keV leads to the formation in it of a developed subgrain structure with equiaxed dislocation-free subgrains. The study of the structural state of the alloy in sections parallel and perpendicular to the irradiated surface indicates that the structural changes under the action of irradiation are realized in the entire volume of the sample of about 3 mm thick, although the projective range of Ar+ ions with an energy of 40 keV in the aluminum alloy VD1 is only 40 nm. The detected structural changes occur at a high rate (during irradiation for several seconds) at depths which are greater by a factor of more than four orders of magnitude than the projective ion range, at a temperature less than 140°C. The subgrain structure observed in the initially cold-worked alloy VD1 after ionic irradiation is close to the structure that is formed as a result of the annealing of cold-worked sheets of this alloy for 2 h at a temperature 250°C.