On microcrack nucleation at twin vertices and boundaries in bcc and fcc metals

Nucleation of microcracks at the vertex and boundary of a decelerated twin is studied for a number of bcc and fcc metals. A twin and its boundary are represented as stepped pileups of twinning dislocations located in the neighboring glide planes. The formation of microcracks through the merging of head dislocations by the force and thermally-activated mechanisms is analyzed. Analytical expressions are obtained that describe the conditions necessary for microcrack nucleation at the vertices of stepped dislocation pileups. It is established that with an increase in the shear-modulus value, the critical parameters of microcrack nucleation by the two above mechanisms become closer in all the metals considered.