Atomistic simulation of the stacking fault energy and grain shape on strain hardening behaviours of FCC nanocrystalline metals

ABSTRACT

Ultra-fine grained copper with nanotwins is found to be both strong and ductile. It is expected that nanocrystalline metals with lamella grains will have strain hardening behaviour. The main unsolved issues on strain hardening behaviour of nanocrystalline metals include the effect of stacking fault energy, grain shape, temperature, strain rate, second phase particles, alloy elements, etc. Strain hardening makes strong nanocrystalline metals ductile. The stacking fault energy effects on the strain hardening behaviour are studied by molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the uniaxial tensile deformation of the layer-grained and equiaxed models for metallic materials at 300?K. The results show that the strain hardening is observed during the plastic deformation of the layer-grained models, while strain softening is found in the equiaxed models. The strain hardening index values of the layer-grained models decrease with the decrease of stacking fault energy, which is attributed to the distinct stacking fault width and dislocation density. Forest dislocations are observed in the layer-grained models due to the high dislocation density. The formation of sessile dislocations, such as Lomer–Cottrell dislocation locks and stair-rod dislocations, causes the strain hardening behaviour. The dislocation density in layer-grained models is higher than that in the equiaxed models. Grain morphology affects dislocation density by influencing the dislocation motion distance in grain interior.     

Structure and stability of Σ3 grain boundaries in face centered cubic metals

Σ3 grain boundaries form as a result of either growth twinning or deformation twinning in face centered cubic (fcc) metals and play a crucial role in determining the mechanical and electrical properties and microstructural stability. We studied the structure and stability of Σ3 grain boundaries (GBs) in fcc metals by using topological analysis and atomistic simulations. Atomistic simulations were performed for Cu and Al with empirical interatomic potentials to reveal the influence of stacking fault energy on the morphology of the twinned grains. Three sets of tilt Σ3 GBs were studied with respect to the tilt axis parallel to ?111?, ?112?, and ?110?, respectively. We showed that Σ3{111} and Σ3{112} GBs are thermodynamically stable and the others will dissociate into terraced interfaces regardless of the stacking fault energy. The morphology of the nano-twinned grains in Cu is predicted from the above analysis and found to match with experiments.     

晶界对纳米多晶铝中冲击波阵面结构影响的分子动力学研究

用分子动力学方法研究了纳米多晶铝在冲击加载下的冲击波阵面结构及塑性变形机理.模拟研究结果表明:在弹性先驱波之后,是晶界间滑移和变形主导了前期的塑性变形机理;然后是不全位错在界面上成核和向晶粒内传播,然后在晶粒内形成堆垛层错、孪晶和全位错的过程主导了后期的塑性变形机理.冲击波阵面扫过之后留下的结构特征是堆垛层错和孪晶留在晶粒内,大部分全位错则湮灭于对面晶界.这个由两阶段塑性变形过程导致的时序性塑性波阵面结构是过去未见报道过的. 关键词： 晶界 塑性变形 冲击波阵面 分子动力学     

Strain induced grain boundary premelting in bulk copper bicrystals

In bulk bicrystals strain induced grain boundary premelting (SIGBPM) occurs when heavy screw dislocation pileup can be held up to a certain high temperature, approximately 0.6T _M, where T _M is the melting point of bulk material in Kelvin. SIGBPM occurs at grain boundaries to which new twist component is added due to the rotation of both component crystals toward opposite direction about the axis perpendicular to the grain boundary plane. At the original grain boundary, grain boundary sliding takes place due to this relative rotation. In f.c.c. metals with relatively low stacking fault energies such as copper, nickel, brass(30Zn) and silver, dislocations dissociate into partials. Therefore high density tangled dislocations introduced during plastic deformation hardly loose. If these dislocations can be held to high temperatures, SIGBPM is promoted. Formation of static or dynamic recrystallized grains suppresses SIGBPM itself and the propagation of grain boundary cracks formed by SIGBPM.     

Stimulation and Suppression of Grain Boundary Sliding by Intragranular Slip in Zinc Bicrystals

The influence of intragranular slip on grain boundary sliding is studied in originally compatible zinc bicrystals with symmetric tilt boundary. The experiment is designed to separate different effects of intragranular slip on the boundary sliding and establish their mechanisms. Grain boundary sliding with and without development of intragranular slip is observed. The rate of sliding accompanied by slip is more than five times of that without slip. A good correlation between the boundary sliding and intragranular slip prior to slide hardening is established. Slide hardening followed by the negative sliding near one end of the boundary and strain hardening in the boundary vicinity, are observed at the last stages of deformation. For the case of formation of slip induced glissile grain boundary dislocations of opposite signs the possibility of their contribution to total grain boundary sliding, is analyzed. The effect of the increase in the rate of sliding is explained in terms of the accommodation of sliding by slip and appearance of additional glissile grain boundary dislocations of one sign due to strain incompatibility. Contribution of these different dislocation mechanisms to the increase in the sliding rate is determined for the stage of deformation preceding slide hardening. It is supposed that the effect of slide hardening and negative sliding as well as boundary curving is created by non-smooth boundary and small degree of incompatibility caused by straining.     

剪切作用下Cu(100)扭转晶界塑性行为研究

本文采用分子动力学方法研究了在剪切载荷作用下,Cu(100)扭转晶界对Cu柱屈服强度的影响.模拟结果发现,在加载过程中,低角度扭转晶界形成的位错网发生位错形核与扩展,位错之间的塞积作用提高了Cu柱的屈服强度;对于高角度扭转晶界,晶界发生滑动降低了Cu柱的屈服强度.同时发现,随着扭转角度的增加,Cu柱的屈服强度先增大,当扭转角度大于临界角度时,Cu柱的屈服应力逐渐减小.这表明剪切载荷作用下,两种不同的机理主导Cu柱的屈服,对于小于临界角度的扭转晶界,Cu柱的屈服由晶界位错形核和扩展机理主导,对于大于临界角度 关键词： 扭转晶界 分子动力学 位错形核 晶界滑移     

Nanocrystalline gold with small size: inverse Hall–Petch between mixed regime and super-soft regime

ABSTRACT

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the atomic mechanisms of deformation of nanocrystalline gold with 2.65–18?nm in grain size to explore the inverse Hall–Petch effect. Based on the mechanical responses, particularly the flow stress and the elastic-to-plastic transition, one can delineate three regimes: mixed (10–18?nm, dislocation activities and grain boundary sliding), inverse Hall-Petch (5–10?nm, grain boundary sliding), and super-soft (below 5?nm). As the grain size decreases, more grain boundaries present in the nanocrystalline solids, which block dislocation activities and facilitate grain boundary sliding. The transition from dislocation activities to grain boundary sliding leads to strengthening-then-softening due to grain size reduction, shown by the flow stress. It was further found that, samples with large grain exhibit pronounced yield, with the stress overshoot decrease as the grain size decreases. Samples with grain sizes smaller than 5?nm exhibit elastic-perfect plastic deformation without any stress overshoot, leading to the super-soft regime. Our simulations show that, during deformation, smaller grains rotate more and grow in size, while larger grains rotate less and shrink in size.     

γ-TiAl金属间化合物面缺陷能的分子动力学研究

运用分子动力学方法，对γ-TiAl金属间化合物的面缺陷能(层错能和孪晶能)进行了研究. 计算得到γ-TiAl不同滑移系(或孪生系)的整体堆垛层错能曲线，结果表明，γ-TiAl较一般fcc晶体结构的金属可动滑移系(孪生系)的数量减少，在外界条件下呈脆性. 研究孪生系(1/6)〈112〉{111}的弛豫的整体堆垛层错(GSF)能和整体孪晶(GTF)能曲线，对不稳定层错能γ_usf、稳定层错能γ_sf和不稳定孪晶能γ_usf值进行分析，可以预知， γ-TiAl的主要变形机理为孪生系(1/6)〈112〉{111}的孪生和普通滑移系(1/6)〈110〉{111}的滑移，以及超滑移系(1/2)〈011〉{111}的滑移. 关键词： γ-TiAl')" href="#">γ-TiAl 堆垛层错能 孪晶能 分子动力学     

Effects of twin and stacking faults on the deformation behaviors of Al nanowires under tension loading

The effects of twin spacing and temperature on the deformation behavior of nanotwinned Al under tensile loading are investigated using a molecular dynamic(MD) simulation method.The result shows that the yield strength of nanotwinned Al decreases with the increase of twin spacing,which is related to the repulsive force between twin boundary and the dislocation.The result also shows that there is no strain-hardening at the yield point.On the contrary,the stress is raised by strain hardening in the plastic stage.In addition,we also investigate the effects of stacking fault thickness and temperature on the yield strength of the Al nanowire.The simulation results indicate that the stacking fault may strengthen the Al nanowire when the thickness of the stacking fault is below a critical value.     

A new micromechanics-based scale transition model for the strain-rate sensitive behavior of nanocrystalline materials

An original two-step “three phase” elastic–viscoplastic scale transition model is developed based on the combined self-consistent and Mori–Tanaka schemes. A coated inclusion is embedded within a matrix, wherein the inclusion represents grain interiors and the coating of the inclusion mimics the effects of grain boundaries and triple junctions. The predominant behavior within the grain interiors is captured through dislocation glide, whereas grain boundary (GB) dislocation emission and absorption, as well as thermally assisted GB sliding, describe the deformation processes within the coating describing the GB affected zone. Furthermore, an imperfect interface is assumed between the inclusion and the coating to account for viscoplastic grain boundary sliding along a stick-slip mechanism. Results and discussion focus on the competitive roles of GB sliding, GB dislocation emission/absorption, dislocation sweep in grain cores and collective dislocation plasticity, and the origins of the pronounced strain rate sensitivity of fcc NC materials.     

Closed and open-ended stacking fault tetrahedra formation along the interfaces of Cu–Al nanolayered metals

Stacking fault tetrahedra (SFTs) are volume defects that typically form by the clustering of vacancies in face-centred cubic (FCC) metals. Here, we report a dislocation-based mechanism of SFT formation initiated from the semi-coherent interfaces of Cu–Al nanoscale multilayered metals subjected to out-of-plane tension. Our molecular dynamics simulations show that Shockley partials are first emitted into the Cu interlayers from the dissociated misfit dislocations along the Cu–Al interface and interact to form SFTs above the triangular intrinsic stacking faults along the interface. Under further deformation, Shockley partials are also emitted into the Al interlayers and interact to form SFTs above the triangular FCC planes along the interface. The resulting dislocation structure comprises closed SFTs within the Cu interlayers which are tied across the Cu–Al interfaces to open-ended SFTs within the Al interlayers. This unique plastic deformation mechanism results in considerable strain hardening of the Cu–Al nanolayered metal, which achieves its highest tensile strength at a critical interlayer thickness of ~4 nm corresponding to the highest possible density of complete SFTs within the nanolayer structure.     

Effect of grain boundary sliding on the toughness of ultrafine grain structure steel: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the mechanisms of low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel. The simulation results suggest that the sliding of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{111} type grain boundary can improve the impact toughness. Then, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding is studied and it is found that the motion of dislocations along the grain boundary is the underlying cause of the grain boundary sliding. Finally, the sliding of the grain boundary is analyzed from the standpoint of the energy. We conclude that the measures which can increase the quantity of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{111} type grain boundary and elongate the free gliding distance of dislocations along these grain boundaries will improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel.     

THE INFLUENCE OF GRAIN SIZE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE MECHANICAL DEFORMATION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE MATERIALS: MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION

Nanocrystalline (nc) materials are characterized by a typical grain size of 1-100nm. The uniaxial tensile deformation of computer-generated nc samples, with several average grain sizes ranging from 5.38 to 1.79nm, is simulated by using molecular dynamics with the Finnis-Sinclair potential. The influence of grain size and temperature on the mechanical deformation is studied in this paper. The simulated nc samples show a reverse Hall-Petch effect. Grain boundary sliding and motion, as well as grain rotation are mainly responsible for the plastic deformation. At low temperatures, partial dislocation activities play a minor role during the deformation. This role begins to occur at the strain of 5%, and is progressively remarkable with increasing average grain size. However, at elevated temperatures no dislocation activity is detected, and the diffusion of grain boundaries may come into play.     

多晶银纳米线拉伸变形的分子动力学模拟研究

纳米尺度金属Ag以其独特的导电和导热性,广泛应用于微电子、光电子学、催化等领域,特别是在纳米微电极和纳米器件方面的应用.本文采用分子动力学方法模拟了不同晶粒尺寸下多晶银纳米线的拉伸变形行为,详细分析了晶粒尺寸对多晶银纳米线弹性模量、屈服强度、塑性变形机理的影响.发现当晶粒尺寸小于13.49 nm时,多晶Ag纳米线呈现软化现象,出现反Hall-Petch关系,此时的塑性变形机理主要以晶界滑移、晶粒转动为主,变形后期形成五重孪晶;当晶粒尺寸大于13.49 nm时,塑性变形以位错滑移为主,变形后期产生大量的孪晶组织.     

Grain boundary sliding during ambient-temperature creep in hexagonal close-packed metals

Even at ambient temperature or less, below their 0.2% proof stresses all hexagonal close-packed metals and alloys show creep behaviour because they have dislocation arrays lying on a single slip system with no tangled dislocation inside each grain. In this case, lattice dislocations move without obstacles and pile-up in front of a grain boundary. Then these dislocations must be accommodated at the grain boundary to continue creep deformation. Atomic force microscopy revealed the occurrence of grain boundary sliding (GBS) in the ambient-temperature creep region. Lattice rotation of 5° was observed near grain boundaries by electron backscatter diffraction pattern analyses. Because of an extra low apparent activation energy of 20 kJ/mol, conventional diffusion processes are not activated. To accommodate these piled-up dislocations without diffusion processes, lattice dislocations must be absorbed by grain boundaries through a slip-induced GBS mechanism.     

氦泡在bcc钨中晶界处成核长大的分子动力学模拟

钨(W)是潜在的聚变堆面向等离子体材料.聚变反应中产生的氦(He)不溶于金属W,并在其中易聚集形成He泡,使W基体发生脆化,从而导致W基体的性能发生退化.在前人工作的基础上,本文采用分子动力学研究了He泡在单晶bcc-W中以及bcc-W中∑3[211](110)和∑9[110](411)晶界处He泡形核长大初期的演化过程.结果发现,晶界处He泡的长大机制和单晶W中有所不同.单晶W中He泡通过挤出位错环促进长大.而He泡在∑3[211](110)晶界处的长大机制为:首先挤出并发射少量自间隙W原子,而后挤出1/2⟨111⟩位错线,随后,该位错线会沿晶界面上[111]方向迁移出去;在∑9[110](411)晶界处,He泡在我们的模拟时间尺度范围内没有观察到W自间隙子的发射和位错的挤出.