Stabilizing nanostructured materials by coherent nanotwins and their grain boundary triple junction drag

C Saldana, Purdue University - Main Campus
T G. Murthy, Purdue University - Main Campus
M R. Shankar, University of Pittsburgh - Main Campus
E A. Stach, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University
S Chandrasekar, Purdue University - Main Campus

Abstract

The role of nanotwin lamellae in enhancing thermal stability of nanostructured materials is examined. Nanostructured copper with varying densities of twins was generated by controlling the deformation strain rate during severe plastic deformation at cryogenic temperatures. While the nanostructured materials produced under cryogenic conditions are characteristically unstable even at room temperatures, their stability is markedly improved when a dense dispersion of nanotwins is introduced. Observations of the role of nanotwins in pinning grain and subgrain structures suggest an interfacial engineering approach to enhancing the stability of nanostructured alloys.

Discipline(s)

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology