Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2011
The temperature dependence of yield stress and the associated dislocation dissociation in L12 intermetallic compounds are investigated in order to check the feasibility of the classification of L12 intermetallic compounds so far reported in terms of the planarity of core structures of partial dislocations with b = 1/2<110> and 1/3<112> on {111} and {001} glide planes. In contrast to what is believed from the reported classification, the motion of APB-coupled dislocations is proved to give rise to the rapid decrease in yield stress at low temperatures for Co3Ti and Co3 (Al,W). The temperature dependence of yield stress at low temperatures is newly interpreted in terms of a thermal component of solid-solution hardening, at least, for these two L12 compounds. We have proposed a new way to describe the yield stress–temperature curves of L12 compounds with three parameters (the athermal and thermal components of solid-solution hardening and the anomalous strengthening component) when the dislocation dissociation scheme is of the APB-type.