Hardening effects of grain boundary defect structure

The grain boundary defect structure can be changed to advantage by appropriate mechanical and thermal treatments. Researchers continue to show interest in understanding the effects of boundary defect structure on the mechanical properties of polycrystalline metals and alloys. Grain boundary structural features such as boundary ledges have been considered as a means of strengthening in metals and alloys. Considering the various models of Hall-Petch analyses, the grain boundary strength, σg can be expressed as σg = 8αGb(l-υ)m(L/ℓ); where m is the grain boundary ledge density, L is the grain size, ℓ is the distance of dislocation source in the adjacent grain matrix from the boundary, and G, b, and υ have the usual meaning. In particular, the influence of grain boundary ledge density on the strength (hardness) of grain boundaries is considered in the present paper.In the present investigation, pure (99.98%) nickel sheet mill (hot) rolled to 0.022 in. thick was used.

Annealing Temperature and Grain Size Effect on the Grain Boundary Ledge (Density) Structure in Nickel

In recent years many researchers have shown great interest in understanding the structure of grain boundaries1,2 and their influence on the mechanical properties of metals and alloys3-5. It has been shown that the structure of grain boundaries can be changed by appropriate thermomechanical treatments6. There are many experimental parameters that can influence the grain boundary ledge structure. The influence of annealing temperature and grain size are considered here.In the present work, pure (99.98%) nickel sheet mill rolled (hot) to 0.022 in. thick was used. One batch of sample was cut and rolled to 40% reduction in thickness and annealed at 800-1125°K in argon,and air cooled to achieve a constant grain size of 50 μm in all samples. A second set of samples was cut and rolled 10-70% reduction in thickness and similarly annealed at 800-1325°K so as to obtain different samples with grain size of 2, 30, 50, and 150 μm.

Effect of Grain Boundary Ledges on the Flow Stress in Nickel

In a recent paper1 it was shown that grain boundary ledge structure can be changed by appropriate thermomechanical treatments. Grain boundary ledges are sources of dislocations2. Recently the effects of grain boundaries on the mechanical properties in metals and alloys were studied3,4. For a few years now the structure and properties of grain boundaries and their control have been considered as a means of strengthening polycrystalline materials5,6. Li5 has derived a Hall-Petch type relation in terms of grain boundary dislocation source (ledge) density, m, in the form where L is the grain size, σ0 and α are constants, and G ana b have the usual meaning. The influence of grain boundary ledge density, on the flow stress is considered in this paper.In the present work, pure (99.98%) nickel sheet mill rolled (hot) to 0.022 in. thick was used.