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Ductile‐to‐Brittle Transition in Nanocrystalline Metals
Author(s) -
Li H.,
Ebrahimi F.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.200500436
Subject(s) - nanocrystalline material , materials science , grain size , brittleness , fracture (geology) , brittle fracture , intergranular fracture , metallurgy , intergranular corrosion , nanoscopic scale , composite material , nanotechnology , microstructure
Fracture in nanocrystalline metals is shown to depend on grain size. If the grain size is large enough, nanocrystalline metals fracture with a similar mechanism to coarse‐grained materials—with extensive reduction in area and a ductile mode. Grain sizes below a critical value result in brittle fracture, via the breaking of atomic bonds (see Figure and cover). On the nanoscale, the cracks follow a mainly intergranular path.