Investigating active slip planes in tantalum under compressive load: crystal plasticity and slip trace analyses of single crystals

Active slip systems in body centered cubic (BCC) metals remain ambiguous and controversial. In this work, active slip planes in tantalum are investigated using single crystal experiments and simulations. Four tantalum single crystals with [001], [011], [1¯11] and [1¯49] orientations along the loading direction are analyzed after quasi-static compression tests and dynamic Taylor impact tests. Mechanical behavior, deformed shape, texture evolution and slip traces of single crystals are analyzed and compared with crystal plasticity finite element simulations to investigate active slip systems in tantalum. Both experimental observations and modeling results support dominant dislocation slip along {112} planes in tantalum under compressive load.