Atomistic Insight into Grain Boundary Deformation Induced Strengthening in Layer-Grained Nanocrystalline Al

P Jing and Y Wang and YK Zhou and WC Shi, LANGMUIR, 39, 9963-9971 (2023).

DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01342

The brittle nature of nanocrystalline metals presentsa significantchallenge to their widespread application. Extensive efforts havebeen undertaken to develop materials with high strength and good ductility.In this study, we have discovered a new type of nanocrystalline metal,namely, layer-grained Al, which exhibits both high strength and goodductility owing to its enhanced strain hardening ability as revealedby molecular dynamics simulation. Notably, the layer- grained modeldisplays strain hardening instead of the equiaxed model. The observedstrain hardening is attributed to grain boundary deformation, whichhas previously been associated with strain softening. The simulationfindings offer novel insights into the synthesis of nanocrystallinematerials possessing high strength and good ductility, thus expandingthe potential applications of these materials.

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