Grain boundary sliding and stress concentration during creep

A new approach to grain boundary engineering for nanocrystalline materials

A new approach to grain boundary engineering (GBE) for high performance nanocrystalline materials, especially those produced by electrodeposition and sputtering, is discussed on the basis of some important findings from recently available results on GBE for nanocrystalline materials. In order to optimize their utility, the beneficial effects of grain boundary microstructures have been seriously considered according to the almost established approach to GBE. This approach has been increasingly recognized for the development of high performance nanocrystalline materials with an extremely high density of grain boundaries and triple junctions. The effectiveness of precisely controlled grain boundary microstructures (quantitatively characterized by the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) and grain boundary connectivity associated with triple junctions) has been revealed for recent achievements in the enhancement of grain boundary strengthening, hardness, and the control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and intergranular fatigue fracture in electrodeposited nickel and nickel alloys with initial submicrometer-grained structure. A new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary connectivity is proposed to produce high performance nanocrystalline or submicrometer-grained materials with desirable mechanical properties such as enhanced fracture resistance. Finally, the potential power of GBE is demonstrated for high performance functional materials like gold thin films through precise control of electrical resistance based on the fractal analysis of the grain boundary microstructure.

Is stress concentration relevant for nanocrystalline metals?

Classical fracture mechanics as well as modern strain gradient plasticity theories assert the existence of stress concentration (or strain gradient) ahead of a notch tip, albeit somewhat relaxed in ductile materials. In this study, we present experimental evidence of extreme stress homogenization in nanocrystalline metals that result in immeasurable amount of stress concentration at a notch tip. We performed in situ uniaxial tension tests of 80 nm thick (50 nm average grain size) freestanding, single edge notched aluminum specimens inside a transmission electron microscope. The theoretical stress concentration for the given notch geometry was as high as 8, yet electron diffraction patterns unambiguously showed absence of any measurable stress concentration at the notch tip. To identify possible mechanisms behind such an anomaly, we performed molecular dynamics simulations on scaled down samples. Extensive grain rotation driven by grain boundary diffusion, exemplified by an Ashby-Verrall type of grain switching process, was observed at the notch tip to relieve stress concentration. We conclude that in the absence of dislocations, grain realignment or rotation may have played a critical role in accommodating externally applied strain and neutralizes any stress concentration during the process.

Grain Boundary Structure Control for Intergranular Stress-Corrosion Resistance

A geometric model for intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) is presented and used to evaluate the influence of grain boundary structure on the IGSCC resistance of polycrystalline materials. Preliminary observations regarding the structure of intergranular fracture paths in Alloy 600 C-ring specimens exposed to high temperature caustic media are noted to be consistent with the general predictions of the proposed geometric model and demonstrate that significant enhancement to bulk IGSCC resistance may be achieved through material processing considerations which result in (1) moderate increases in the frequency of structurally ‘special’ grain boundaries (i.e., interfaces close to low Σ CSL's) and (2) refinement in grain size.

Structure of a Near-Coincidence Σ9 Tilt Grain Boundary in Aluminum

A systematic study of the structure of tilt grain boundaries in aluminum has been initiated. High resolution transmission electron microscopy is being used to examine the interface structure of several bicrystals with <110> tilt axes. In this paper, we report the structure determination of a grain boundary close to the Σ9 (221) symmetric orientation. The grain boundary plane, which appears wavy at lower magnification, is actually composed of atomically flat microfacets. Two distinct, symmetric structures with (221) boundary planes have been identified within individual microfacets. These observations have been compared with structures calculated using the Embedded Atom Method. The semi-quantitative comparison between the observed and predicted grain boundary structures is accomplished using multislice image simulations based on the calculated structures. The results of these comparisons and the evaluation of the relative energies of the microfacets are discussed.

Prediction and Control of Grain Boundary Fracture in Brittle Materials on the Basis of the Strongest-Link Theory

This paper discusses micropstructural aspects of brittleness fracture of polycrystalline materials caused by intergranular fracture. Structure-dependent intergranular brittle fracture in bicrystals and polycrystals are discussed and predicted theoretically. Experimental evidence for the structure-dependent intergranular fracture is shown and some general features are discussed to demonstrate the relationship between grain boundary structure/character, grain boundary energy and intergranular fracture strength. Theoretical prediction of the fracture toughness based on the strongest-link theory is introduced for polycrystals with different grain boundary microstructures, primarily defined by the grain boundary character distribution, grain boundary connectivity. Finally recent achievements of successful control of intergranular brittleness by grain boundary engineering based on the strongest-link theory are introduced for different materials.

Grain boundary character distributions in Ni-16Cr-9Fe using selected area channeling patterns: methodology and results

Selected area channeling patterns imaged on an SEM are digitized and displayed on the screen of a Macintosh computer, on which the user selects channeling bands that are measured to determine orientation. Grain boundary misorientations are found using the orientation information for pairs of grains adjacent at grain boundaries, and the boundaries are classified as low angle boundaries (LABs), coincident site lattice boundaries (CSLBs), or general boundaries (GHABs) based on the misorientation information. The technique was implemented to analyze the grain boundary character distributions (GBCDs) in Ni-16Cr-9Fe. The GBCDs of solution annealed material were similar to those expected in an aggregate of randomly oriented polycrystals. However, sequential thermomechanical treatments (5% tensile strain + 945 degrees C:75 min + 2% tensile strain + 890 degrees C:15 h + 3% tensile strain + 890 degrees C:20 h or 9% compressive strain + 890 degrees C:20 h + 9% compressive strain + 890 degrees C:20 h + 3% compressive strain + 890 degrees C:15 h) applied after the solution anneal lowered the proportions of GHABs in the GBCDs from 76-79% to 47-64%. The CSL-enhanced GBCDs of both the tensile-deformed samples and the compression-deformed sample appear to have evolved mainly through impingement of twin and twin-related boundaries during recrystallization; the CSL-enhanced GBCD of a compression-deformed sample appears to have been influenced by grain rotation processes to a greater degree than were the tensile-deformed samples The CSL boundaries in the CSL-enhanced GBCDs were, in general, closer to the exact CSL misorientations than were those in the near-random GBCDs of the solution annealed material. An analysis of the distribution of misorientation axes did not indicate any correlation between grain misorientation texture and GBCD evolution.