Influence of solutes on the competition between mesoscopic grain boundary sliding and coupled grain boundary motion

J Schafer and K Albe, SCRIPTA MATERIALIA, 66, 315-317 (2012).

DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2011.11.031

The competition between coupled grain boundary motion and mesoscopic grain boundary sliding as deformation mechanisms in polycrystalline metals is studied for nanocrystalline Cu with and without solutes by molecular dynamics computer simulations. It is shown that coupled grain boundary motion contributes to plastic deformation, and it is found that it leads to the suppression of mesoscopic grain boundary sliding. Segregating solutes, however, effectively pin the grain boundaries in place and allow for grain boundary sliding on a mesoscopic scale. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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