Grain Growth In Nanocrystalline Metals Research Articles

Zr segregation in Ni–Zr alloy: implication on deformation mechanism during shear loading and bending creep

Grain boundary (GB) migration and grain growth in nanocrystalline metals are major obstructions to exploit these materials to their fullest potential, thus limiting their utility as advanced structural materials. Here, we investigate the effect of Zr segregation to a Ni GB on migration and subsequent strengthening during shear deformation and high-temperature bending creep. Specifically, using molecular dynamics simulation, we simulate deformation of a Ni bicrystal specimen having a symmetric ∑5 grain boundary with and without segregated Zr. It is found that GB segregation up to 0.4 at.% pins the CSL boundary resulting in increased shear strength. Similar behavior is also observed in the case of bending creep deformation where the creep resistance increases only up to 0.4 at.%. This study indicates that larger amounts of GB segregation cause destabilization of the local atomic structure and consequently affect the GB stiffness. Moreover, we investigate the effect of Zr segregation on the interaction between the GB and a dislocation. We find that the preexisting dislocation is absorbed in the GB region for both clean and segregated specimens; however, the absorption path of the dislocation is different due to the change in GB stiffness caused by the Zr segregation.

The Coupling of Grain Growth and Twinning in FCC Metals

Coherent twin boundaries (CTBs) routinely form during the annealing of polycrystalline metals, in the absence of an applied stress. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of normal grain growth in nanocrystalline metals show such annealing twins as well the formation of twin junctions. MD simulations and theoretical analyses demonstrate how these junctions form and that their formation necessarily retards grain boundary (GB) migration. Both CTB and GB migration occurs via disconnection motion. We identify the types of disconnections important for CTB migration and show the disconnection pile-ups at TJs during GB migration are responsible for CTB formation in the vicinity of TJs. Analysis further shows that at least two types twinning partials are to be expected during TJ migration and that these give rise to the multiple twinning near migrating TJs observed in the MD simulations.

A synergetic grain growth mechanism uniting nanograin rotation and grain boundary migration in nanocrystalline materials

A theoretical model has been developed to analyze the energetic characteristic of a cooperative grain growth process in nanocrystalline materials. We proposed that the process can be realized by rotating the adjoining grains first and then migrating the boundary that separates the grains, or vise versa, or by enabling both rotation and migration simultaneously. It is revealed that the synergetic process is energetically more favorable than the pure individual growth processes, i.e., nano-grain rotation or shear-coupled migration of grain boundaries. The critical stress that is required to initiate the growth process is also considerably reduced. The findings suggest a new general mode of grain growth in nanocrystalline metals.

Fatigue-driven acceleration of abnormal grain growth in nanocrystalline wires

Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to simulate the mechanical response and grain evolution in a Ni nanowire for both static and cyclic loading conditions at both 300 and 500 K for periods of 40 ns. The loading conditions included thermal annealing with no deformation, constant 1% extension (creep loading) and cyclic loading with strain amplitudes of 0.5% and 1% for 200 cycles. Under cyclic loading, the stress–strain response showed permanent deformation and cyclic hardening behavior. At 300 K, modest grain evolution was observed at all conditions within the 40 ns simulations. At 500 K, substantial grain growth is observed in all cases, but is most pronounced under cyclic loading. This may result mechanistically from a net motion of the boundaries associated with boundary ratcheting. There is a striking qualitative consistency between the present simulation results and the experimental observation of abnormal grain growth in nanocrystalline metals as a precursor to fatigue crack initiation.

Amorphous complexions enable a new region of high temperature stability in nanocrystalline Ni-W

Solute segregation is used to limit grain growth in nanocrystalline metals, but this stabilization often breaks down at high temperatures. Amorphous intergranular films can form in certain alloys at sufficiently high temperatures, providing a possible alternative route to lower grain boundary energy and therefore limit grain growth. In this study, nanocrystalline NiW that is annealed at temperatures of 1000 °C and above, then rapidly quenched, is found to contain amorphous intergranular films. These complexions lead to a new, unexpected region of nanocrystalline stability at elevated temperatures.

Stress-assisted grain growth in nanocrystalline metals: Grain boundary mediated mechanisms and stabilization through alloying

The mechanisms of stress-assisted grain growth are explored using molecular dynamics simulations of nanoindentation in nanocrystalline Ni and Ni-1 at.% P as a function of grain size and deformation temperature. Grain coalescence is primarily confined to the high stress region beneath the simulated indentation zone in nanocrystalline Ni with a grain size of 3 nm. Grain orientation and atomic displacement vector mapping demonstrates that coalescence transpires through grain rotation and grain boundary migration, which are manifested in the grain interior and grain boundary components of the average microrotation. A doubling of the grain size to 6 nm and addition of 1 at.% P eliminates stress-assisted grain growth in Ni. In the absence of grain coalescence, deformation is accommodated by grain boundary-mediated dislocation plasticity and thermally activated in pure nanocrystalline Ni. By adding solute to the grain boundaries, the temperature-dependent deformation behavior observed in both the lattice and grain boundaries inverts, indicating that the individual processes of dislocation and grain boundary plasticity will exhibit different activity based on boundary chemistry and deformation temperature.

Constitutive modeling of stress-driven grain growth in nanocrystalline metals

In this work, we present a variational multiscale model for grain growth in face-centered cubic nanocrystalline (nc) metals. In particular, grain-growth-induced stress softening and the resulting relaxation phenomena are addressed. The behavior of the polycrystal is described by a conventional Taylor-type averaging scheme in which the grains are treated as two-phase composites consisting of a grain interior phase and a grain boundary-affected zone. Furthermore, a grain-growth law that captures the experimentally observed characteristics of the grain coarsening phenomena is proposed. To this end, the grain size is not taken as constant and varies according to the proposed stress-driven growth law. Several parametric studies are conducted to emphasize the influence of the grain-growth rule on the overall macroscopic response. Finally, the model is shown to provide a good description of the experimentally observed grain-growth-induced relaxation in nc-copper.

Effects of Free Surface and Heterogeneous Residual Internal Stress on Stress-Driven Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Metals

By reevaluating the experimental study of Zhang et al. (2005), here we demonstrate that the extent of grain growth, previously proposed to be solely driven by external stress, may have been significantly overestimated. A new physical mechanism, termed as free surface assisted stress-driven grain growth (or self-mechanical annealing), is proposed and discussed in detail. Representing the cooperative effect of free surface and heterogeneous residual internal stress, the proposed mechanism is considered more favorable than the traditional pure stress-driven mechanism for interpreting the abnormal grain growth widely observed in deforming nanocrystalline metals at room temperature.

Retaining the Nano in Nanocrystalline Alloys

Judicious alloying can prevent grain growth in nanocrystalline metals, preserving their useful properties at high temperatures.

RETRACTED: Thermodynamic study of grain growth in nanocrystalline metals and its simulation by molecular dynamics

RETRACTED: Thermodynamic study of grain growth in nanocrystalline metals and its simulation by molecular dynamics

Stress-driven grain growth in nanocrystalline Pt thin films

Microtensile experiments and electron microscopy have been utilized to characterize the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline Pt films. The behavior can be described as high strength with limited strain to failure. The tensile deformation triggers a microstructural evolution increasing the grain size from 20 nm in the initial state to 33 nm in the deformed state. This observation of grain growth at a homologous temperature of 0.146 provides further evidence of the role of mechanical stress in initiating grain growth in nanocrystalline metals.

TEM and SEM in-situ annealing of nanocrystalline copper thin films

Materials mechanical resistance is known to depend on the size of structural features, accordingly to the familiar HallPetch equation. For the nanometer range of grain sizes, this relationship breaks down and a change of the grain size exponent is needed to satisfy this dependency. Nevertheless, the superior strength of the nanocrystalline material relays on the small dimension of its grains. Characterization of the thermal stability of these materials becomes relevant since a large fraction of atoms are in the grain boundaries and, as a result, its structure posses a large excess of energy that promotes grain growth. Grain growth in nanocrystalline metals has been observed well below the temperatures needed to promote grain growth in coarse grained materials; in some cases, even at room temperature. From this perspective, the study of grain growth in nanocrystalline metals is crucial for the development of new nanocrystalline materials with outstanding mechanical properties. There are many studies that propose models to explain the mechanism of nucleation and growth of annealing twins in F.C.C. materials. In-situ TEM and SEM techniques are invaluable for understanding and characterizing dynamic microstructural changes like nucleation and growth of grains and twins. This is an important observation because twinning affects the properties of materials and so is essential to comprehend the mechanism of twin formation. Other advantage of the in-situ TEM technique is the study of grain growth in ultra fine film with a thickness in the range of 50 to 100 nm. With these techniques, the mechanisms and kinetics of grain growth in nanocrystalline thin films can be observed and studied in real time.

Unraveling the nature of room temperature grain growth in nanocrystalline materials

We report on the observation of real-time-resolved room temperature grain growth in nanocrystalline metals. We find that neither the time evolution of size can be modeled by standard growth theories nor are there any other systems aware to us that manifest a similar growth behaviour. We detect a transition from an initially self-similar slow growth to abnormal grain growth. Its onset seems to be associated with the simultaneous decrease of microstrain with increasing grain size. Abnormal grain growth is considered as a generic feature of nanocrystallinity but is a transient state since we observed in the late stage of coarsening, using orientational imaging microscopy, a monomodal grain size distribution. We empirically find a nonlinear-response-type of growth law which is in agreement with the observed coarsening kinetics.

Effect of Annealing Conditions on the Grain Size of Nanocrystalline Copper Thin Films

Nanocrystalline metals demonstrate a broad range of fascinating mechanical properties at the nanoscale, namely a significant increase in hardness and superior yield stress. In this regard, understanding grain growth in nanocrystalline metals is crucial, particularly because nano size grains are characterized by a high curvature, which results in a high driving force for grain growth. In this work, the effect of annealing conditions on grain size of copper nanocrystalline thin films was investigated. The nanocrystalline copper thin films were first deposited by d.c. magnetron sputtering on a copper substrate. The specimens were then annealed in vacuum at 100, 300 and 500°C from 10 minutes to 5 hours. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that the as-deposited thin films have a bimodal grain size distribution; an average grain size of 43±2nm and the presence of nanotwins. Abnormal grain growth was observed for some samples annealed. Increasing the annealing time induced significant grain growth and promoted twin formation in the larger grains. Finally, the hardness of these nanocrystalline Cu thin films was determined using atomic force microscope. The relation between mechanical properties, annealing conditions and grain size was analyzed.

Strain effects on the coarsening and softening of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni subjected to high pressure torsion

The softening of electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel due to grain coarsening caused by high pressure torsion at room temperature was studied. The extent of coarsening and softening increases with increasing applied strains, indicating that large strains and high stresses are required to induce grain growth in nanocrystalline metals.

Accommodation of large plastic strains and defect accumulation in nanocrystalline Ni grains

A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study has been carried out to uncover how dislocations and twins accommodate large plastic strains and accumulate in very small nanocrystalline Ni grains during low-temperature deformation. We illustrate dislocation patterns that suggest preferential deformation and nonuniform defect storage inside the nanocrystalline grain. Dislocations are present in individual and dipole configurations. Most dislocations are of the 60° type and pile up on (111) slip planes. Various deformation responses, in the forms of dislocations and twinning, may simultaneously occur inside a nanocrystalline grain. Evidence for twin boundary migration has been obtained. The rearrangement and organization of dislocations, sometimes interacting with the twins, lead to the formation of subgrain boundaries, subdividing the nanograin into mosaic domain structures. The observation of strain (deformation)-induced refinement contrasts with the recently reported stress-assisted grain growth in nanocrystalline metals and has implications for understanding the stability and deformation behavior of these highly nonequilibrium materials.

Diffusion Creep during Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Metals

Diffusion controlled creep in nanostructured materials is considered for the case when grain growth occurs concurrently. The Nabarro-Herring and Coble mechanisms that would predict creep rate reduction are re-considered to include the effect of grain-growth induced vacancy generation. It is shown that under such conditions creep is accelerated during an initial stage of grain growth as compared to the case of constant grain size. This creep enhancement stage is followed by a period of reduced creep rate. The predicted strain rate behaviour resembles primary and secondary creep.