An Optical Interferometric Band as an Indicator of Plastic Deformation Front

The Lüders’ front and a previously discovered optical interferometric band structure were observed simultaneously in steel specimens under tensile loading. The observed Lüders’ front and optical band structure show the same propagation characteristics, confirming our previous interpretation that the optical band structure represents the plastic deformation front. Analysis shows that the stress at which the optical band structure begins to appear is approximately 10% lower than the corresponding Lüders’ front, indicating that the optical band structure reveals the plastic deformation front with higher sensitivity than the Lüders’ front.