Healing mechanism of nanocrack in nanocrystalline metals during creep process

Abstract

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has been performed to demonstrate the fate of cracks present inside ultrafine-grained (grain size ~ 7 nm) nanocrystalline Ni specimen during creep deformation process. It is observed that internal nanocracks are healed within a few pico-seconds of initial part of creep process even if the constant applied load on the specimen is tensile in nature and acting normal to crack surface in the outward direction. This kind of crack-healing phenomenon can be accounted by the facts such as stress-driven grain boundary migration, grain boundary diffusion and amorphization of specimen as per results obtained from this MD simulation. This MD study also reveals that the presence of nanocrack inside ultrafine-grained NC Ni in fact slightly improves creep properties and such enhancement of the creep properties is intensified as the size of internal crack increases.