Positron annihilation studies of the Al-Ca-Zn superplastic alloy: Thermal and thermomechanical contribution

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) is an established method for the study of electronic structure and defect properties in metals and alloys. The application of this technique to the study of positron trapping in grain boundaries and related phenomena, however, is relatively scarce. The physical basis for the application of PAS to the study of grain boundaries is the fact that grain boundaries are regions of low atomic density which result in attractive sites to the trap positions. The superplastic alloys are particularly suitable materials to be studied with PAS; they have a fine-grained structure, and therefore a high density of grain boundaries. Moreover, in the annealed condition, they have a low density of other types of defects capable of trapping positrons, such as dislocations. This type of polycrystalline material can undergo extremely high deformations (up to hundreds and thousands percent) in a certain temperature-strain rate range without macroscopic failure. This paper is part of a whole study of the thermal and thermomechanical effects on the positron lifetime parameters and their relation with microstructural changes and the phenomenon of structural superplasticity in a Al-Ca-Zn alloy.