Creation of a heterogeneous grain structure is a condition for increasing the low-temperature ductility of nanocrystalline hcp metals

Abstract

The paper considers the influence of a heterogeneous (bimodal) grain structure on the ductility characteristics of commercial purity titanium in a wide range of low temperatures (4.2–395 K) as a strategy for optimizing mechanical properties within the framework of the “strength–plasticity” ratio. Using titanium as an example, the physical mechanism for increasing the low-temperature ductility of hcp nanocrystalline metals with a heterogeneous grain size distribution is explained by a combination of several processes: an increase in the activity of intragrain dislocation slip, dynamic grain growth under tensile stresses, and activation of nanotwinning in submicron-sized grains.