Abstract: The cyclic behaviours of two prestrained materials with different slip modes have been com- pared.From the analysis of hysterisis loops,it is suggested that the decrease in back stress dominates the cyclic process of Cu-Zn alloy with planar slip mode,while the decrease in frictional stress is the main factor affecting the behaviour of Cu with wavy slip mode.The re- lation between the dislocation configuration and internal stress has been also discussed.By means of the relation just mentioned,the variations of dislocation configuration before and after fatigue of the two materials,the differences in their softening mechanism and mechani- cal behaviour could be interpreted.

Key words: slip mode, fatigue softening, hysteresis loop, internal stress