StrengtheningMechanisms

Themechanicalpropertiesofamaterialarecontrolledbythe
microstructure.Tensilestrengthiscontrolledbytheworkhardening
rate.
Theworkhardeningratecontrolstheamountofuniformdeformation
(elongation).Thehighertheelongation,thetougherthematerialand
thegreaterdeformability.
Theabilityofametaltoplasticallydeformdependsontheabilityof
dislocationstomove.
Reducingorinhibitingmobilityofdislocationsenhancesmechanical
strength.
Fourmainwaysofcontrollingthestrength:(a)SolidSolution
Hardening;(b)GrainBoundaries;(c)Precipitationhardeningand (d)
WorkHardening(DislocationHardening)
 Strengtheningincrystalsresultsfromtherestrictionof
dislocationmotion.
Wecanrestrictdislocationmotionbyaltering,promoting,oradding:
Bondtype:Choiceofbasicmaterial
Dislocation dislocationinteractions:Workhardening
Grainboundaries:HallPetch relationship
Soluteatoms:Solidsolutionhardening
Precipitatesordispersedparticles :Precipitationhardeningor
dispersionhardening
Phasechanges:Transformationhardeningortoughening.
 Howcanwedotoincreasestrength?
GENERAL
Onesimplemethodistoplaceobstaclesinthepathofdislocations
thatwilleitherslowthemdownorstopthemcompletelyuntilthe
stressishighenoughtomovethemfurther.Thisworksforcrystals!
Innoncrystallinematerialswedodifferentthings.
SPECIFIC
Dislocationsdistortthecrystallattice.
Variousobstaclesalsodistortthecrystallattice.
Stress/strainfieldsfrombothwillinteractwitheachother,which
reducesv(thedislocationvelocity).
Thisineffectincreasesthestressrequiredtocausethematerialto
flow (i.e.,itincreasestheflowstress)andthusthestrength ofthe
material.
 Generalmodelforstrengthening(1)
REFERENCE:L.M.BrownandR.K.Ham,inStrengtheningMechanismsinCrystals,editedbyA.KellyandR.B.
Nicholson,Wiley,NewYork,1971,pp.970.
Consideraslipplanethatcontainsarandomarrayofobstacles. We
dontcarewhattheobstaclesareatthispoint.
Asthedislocationsarebeinganchorbythe Gb c
obstacles,extrawork isrequiredtomovethe ' Cos
L 2
dislocationthroughthearrayofobstacles.This
resultsinahigherstresstocauseflow. Gb
Max =
SOLIDSOLUTIONSTRENGTHENING L
Impurityatomsthatgointosolidsolutionimpose
latticestrainsonsurroundinghostatoms
Latticestrainfieldinteractionsbetween
dislocationsandimpurityatomsresultin
restrictionofdislocationmovement
Thisisoneofthemostpowerfulreasonstomake
alloys,whichhavehigherstrengththanpure
metals.

Example: 24kgoldistoosoft.Ifweputin16%silverand9%copper,
wegetanalloythatlooksjustlikepuregold,butismuchmore strong
anddurable.Wecallthis18kgold.(18/24=75%gold)
 Therearetwotypesofsolidsolutions:
Substitutional SolidSolution: Soluteandsolventatomsareroughly
ofthesamesizeandthesoluteatomswillreplacethesolvent
atomsinitspositioninthecrystalstructure.
InterstitialSolidsSolution: Thesoluteatomsaresmallerthanthe
solventatomsandtheywilloccupyinterstitialpositionsinthe
solventlattice.
Substitutional Ni/Cu

Interstitial

C/Fe
Thefactorsthatcontrolthetendencyfortheformationof
substitutional solidsolutionsaregivenbytheHumeRothery Rules.

FactorsforhighsolubilityinSubstitutional alloys
(HumeRothery SolubilityRules)
Similaratomicsize(towithin15%)
Similarcrystalstructure
Similarelectronegativity (otherwiseacompoundisformed)
Similarvalence
Compositioncanbeexpressedinweightpercent,usefulwhen
makingthesolution,andinatomicpercent,usefulwhentrying
tounderstandthematerialattheatomiclevel.
Example
NiiscompletelymiscibleinCu(allrulesapply)
ZnispartiallymiscibleinCu(differentvalence,differentcrystal
structure)
 Ni Cubinaryisomorphous Limitedsolubility
alloy (eutectic)alloys
Ni Cu Pb Cu
crystalstructure FCC FCC FCC FCC
atomicradius 0.125 0.128 0.175 0.128
2.4% 36.7%
electronegativities 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.8
valence 2+ 2+ 2+,4+ 2+

SolubilityCuinNi 100% SolubilityCuinPb 0.1%

SolidSolution:
homogeneous
maintaincrystalstructure
containrandomlydispersedimpurities
(substitutional orinterstitial)
SecondPhase:assoluteatomsareadded,newcompounds/
structuresareformed,orsoluteformslocalprecipitates
 Whyitworks??

Small atomsliketolive
here. (theyreducelattice
straincausedbythe
dislocation).

Big atoms(orinterstitials)
liketolivehere(thereis
morespace.)

Atomsofeithertypediffusetodislocationsduringhightemperature
processing,thenexertforcesonthedislocationlatertokeepthem
stuck.
ThePrinciple
Anyinhomogeneity inacrystallatticewillcreateastrainfield
withinalattice.
Dislocationswillinteractwiththosestrainfields.
Thetypeofinteractionwilldeterminethedegreeofhardening
orsoftening.
Ingeneral,soluteatomsincreasethestrengthsofcrystals.
However,undertherightconditionstheycandecreasethe
strength.
Theincreasearisesdueto:
Shortrange soluteinteractions
Longrange soluteinteractions
Dislocationswillinteractwithsolutesthatlieon,above,and
belowslipplanes.Themostintenseinteractionswilloccurinclose
proximitytotheslipplane.
Smallimpurityatomsexerttensilestrains(seefigurebelow)
Largeimpurityatomsexertcompressivestrains

Soluteatomstendto
diffuseandsegregate
arounddislocationsto
reduceoverallstrainenergy
cancelsomeofthestrain
inthelatticeduetothe
dislocations.

CompressiveStrains
ImposedbyLarger
Substitutional Atoms
 Addnickeltocopper,strengthgoes
up,ductilitygoesdown forthe
samereason:dislocationmobilityis
decreased.
Note:tradeoffinproperties
Theusualeffectofsoluteadditionis
toraisetheyieldstressandthelevel
ofstressstraincurveasawhole.

Sincesoluteatomsaffecttheentirestressstraincurve,theseatomshavemore
influenceonthefrictionalresistancetothedislocationmotion thanonthestatic
lockingofthedislocations.
 Accordingtotheirstrengtheningeffectsoluteatomsfallintotwo
broadcategories:
Soluteatomsthatproducedilatationalstrainsorsphericalor
symmetricaldistortions,suchassubstituteatoms.Theirrelative
contributiontothestrengtheningislowG/10.
Soluteatomsthatproducedistortional(shear)strainsornon
sphericalornonsymmetricaldistortions,suchastheinterstitial
atoms.Theirrelativecontributiontothestrengtheningishigh3G.
Elementsinsolidsolutionusuallystrengthencrystals.
Forsubstitutional solutions,theyieldstrengthincreases 4
inproportiontotheirconcentrationofsolutes. = CG 3
c
Wherec istheconcentrationofsoluteexpressedasan a
atomicfraction, isthemisfitparameter,C isaconstant = a
andG istheshearmodulus. c
Theeffectofsubstitutional solutesismainlyattributabletointeraction
ofthesoluteswiththedilatationalstressfieldaroundedge
dislocations.Substitutional soluteshavelittleinteractionwithscrew
dislocations.
Hence,substitutional andinterstitialsolutesareoftenconsiderto
functionaslocalelasticdistortionswithinalloys.
Theinteractionofthesoluteswiththedislocationsdependsonthe
characteroftheelasticstrainfieldaroundthedislocation.Theelastic
strainfieldsofedgeandscrewdislocationsareprofoundlydifferent.
Forascrewdislocationwithazaxis Foranedgedislocationwithazaxis
paralleltothedislocationline. paralleltothedislocationline.

0 0 13 11 12 0
= 0 0 23 = 21 22 0
31 32 0 0 0 33
Themutuallyexclusivecharacterofthetwostrainfieldsprovidesthat
idealscrewdislocationsshouldinteractonlywithotherdefects that
causesheardistortionsalongthedislocationcore.
Edgedislocationsstrainfieldsinteractwithdefectsthatcause either
volumetricstraincomponentsorshearstraincomponents.
Substitutional solutesproduce
primarilyvolumetricchanges,while
interstitialsolutes(insertionofatoms
intooctahedralandtetrahedral
positions)willproduceeither
volumetricanddistortional(shear)
strains.Hence,interstitialatomsare
anticipatedasmoreefficientin
strengthening.

Thegraphbelowshowshowdifferentalloyingadditionsaffecttheyieldstrengthofa
ferrite+pearlite structuralsteel.
 Strengtheningduetodifferentdefects
(TypicalValues)

Themorepotentstrengthenersarethedefectsthatproduce
nonsymmetricalstrainfields(i.e.,thosewithlargeshearcomponents)
Thestrengtheningpotencyofinterstitialsisusuallymuchgreater
thanthatofsubstitutional solutes.Thesolubilityofinterstitialsis
normallyverysmall.Thestrengtheningpotencyisexpressedas: c
Wherecisthefractionofinterstitialsoluteand = ini
Thestrengtheningpotencyforinterstitialsolutesisatleastan
orderofmagnitudegreaterthanthatforsubstitutional
strengthening.
Themagnitudeofthemisfitstrainalsoplaysarole
a
= initial + G f
misfit c g
=
a

initial=shearyieldstrengthofapurematerial; isaconstant;G isthe

shearmodulus;misfit isthemisfitstrain;c isthesolutefraction.The
misfitstrainexponentisf=3/2 andtheconcentrationexponentg
variesfrom0.5to1.
 Soluteinteractionswithdislocations.
1.Elasticinteraction
2.Modulusinteraction
3.Stackingfaultinteraction
4.Electrical(valence)interaction
5.Shortrangeorderinteraction
6.Longrangeorderinteraction

Solidsolutionstrengtheningisdominatedbytype1and2
interactions.
Type1,2,and6interactionsarelongrange, whichmeansthat
theyarerelativelyinsensitivetotemperatureandarestrongup to
~0.6 0.7TMP.
Type3,4,and5interactionsareshortrange, whichmeansthat
theywillcontributestronglytoflowstressatlowtemperatures.
 TheSizeEffect& Interstitial
StrainFieldShape
Theshapeofthestrainfields
causedbydefectsandthosearound Big
dislocationshaveasignificant Substitutional
impactonthestrengthofasolid.
Substitutional solutesgenerally
stretchthelatticeuniformly
producinghydrostatic(spherical) Small
strainfieldsaroundthesolutes. Substitutional
Thesehydrostaticstrainfieldsare
relativeweak obstaclesto
furtherdislocationmotionin
comparisontoshearstrainfields.
Edgedislocationshaveboth
dilatationalandshear(i.e.,
distortional)strainfields.
Screwdislocationsonlyhave
shearstrainfields.
 Thereisaninteractionbetweenthestrainfieldsaroundsolute
atomsandthestrainfieldsarounddislocations.Thisinteractionis
basedonreducingthestrainenergyassociatedwithdislocations and
soluteatoms.
Usinganedgedislocationinthisexample,theregionaboveanedge
dislocationisincompression.Theregionbelowthecoreisintension.
Soluteatomswithdilatationalstrainfieldswillinteractwiththese
regionstocanceloutstrainandthusreducetheelasticstrainenergy
ofthesystem.
Bothattractiveandrepulsiveforcesbetweensolutesand
dislocationswillinhibitthemotionofdislocations,thusincreasing
strength.
 Strainfieldsaroundsolutes
FCClattice :Substitutional solute:dilatationalstrain.Interstitial
solute:dilatationalstrain.
BCClattice :Substitutional solute:dilatationalstrain.Interstitial
solute:distortional(shear)strain.Thiscomponentisasymmetric!
Whatinteractionsmightbeexpectedbetweensolutesand
dislocationsindifferentlattices?
FCCLattice:Screwdislocations littleornointeractionswith
solutes.Edgedislocations stronginteractionswithbothtypesof
solutes
BCCLattice:Edgedislocations stronginteractionswithbothtypes
ofsolutes.Screwdislocations stronginteractionswithinterstitial
solutes
Consideringtheseinteractions,whatdoyouthinkmighthappenin
anHCPlattice?Whichsoluteswillcausethemostpotenthardening?
 Modulusinteraction
Sincesoluteatomsgenerallyhavedifferentshearmoduli thanthe
solventatoms,theyimposeadditionalstrainfieldsonthelatticeofthe
surroundingmatrix.
Modulusinteractionsoccurifthepresenceofasoluteatomchanges
thelocalmodulusofthecrystal.
Whensoluteswithsmallershearmoduli thanthesolvent(i.e.,Gsolute <
Gsolvent),theenergyofthestrainfieldsarounddislocationswillbe
reduced(i.e.,elasticstrainenergyisreduced)whichcausesan
attractionbetweenthesolutesandthedislocations.
Bothedgeandscrewdislocationsaresubjecttothisinteraction.
SizeandmoduluseffectsaredetailedinsomeofFleischersclassic
papers:(a)R.L.Fleischer,SolutionHardening, Acta Metallurgica,9(1961)pp.9961000.
(b)R.L.Fleischer,SolutionHardeningbyTetragonalDistortions:ApplicationtoIrradiation
HardeninginFaceCenteredCubicCrystals, Acta Metallurgica,10(1962)pp.835842.(c)R.L.
Fleischer,Substitutional SolutionHardening, Acta Metallurgica,11(1963)pp.203210.
Ultimately,theeffectivenessofsolidsolutionstrengtheningdependsuponthesize
mismatchandthemodulusmismatchbetweenforeignatomsandparentatoms.
 Strainsinducedbylatticeandmodulusmismatch
Latticemisfitstrainsareproportionaltothelocal 1 a
changeinlatticeparameterperunitconcentrationof Lattice =
solute.Thiscanbeexpressedas(wherea isthelattice a c
parameterofthesoluteandc istheconcentrationof
solute). 1 G
Modulus =
Theequationdescribingthemodulusinteractionis G c
similar:
Themodulusinteractionenergycanbeeitherpositive
ornegativedependinguponthesignofmodulus. S = mod ulus Lattice
l

Thetotalstraincausedbybothlatticeand mod ulus

mod
l
ulus =
modulusmismatch(s) hasbeenshownby 1
1 + mod ulus
Fleischertobe: 2
Inthisequation,lattice and arealwayspositive.modulus isnegativefor
soft atoms(sizeandmoduluseffectsreinforce)andpositivefor
hard atoms. isanempiricalparameterthatisrelatedtothe
importanceofscrewandedgedislocationsduringplasticflow.
Wecanrelatesolidsolutionstrengtheningtoour
FMax
generalequationforstrengthening.IfweletL equal
theeffectiveobstaclespacing,thentheincreasein
= l
bL
flowstrengthforsoluteatomsis:
Gb 2 Gb 2
Inthisequation,Fmax isproportionaltoGb2.For FMax = ....to....
strong obstacles(i.e.,thingsthatcause 5 10
tetragonallatticedistortions): Gb 2
Forweak obstacles(i.e.,thingsthatcause FMax =
130
sphericallatticedistortions):
c
Fortetragonaldefects, solidsolution TET Gb = G c
strengtheningisgivenas: b

Commonexamplesoftetragonaldefectsincludeinterstitialsolutes
inBCCmetalsandinterstitialvacancypairsinFCCmetals.
Hardeningbyinterstitialsisabout50timesmoreefficientthan
hardeningbysubstitutional atoms.
Thegeneralstrengtheningequationforconventional 3
substitutional solidsolutionstrengtheninghasbeen G S2
y = c
estimatedbyFleischer.Itis: 700
 SolidSolutionStrengthening:Size andModulus effect
Cumoduluseffect s | G 3b | TetragonaldistortionforCu
1 dG 1 da
G = b =
G dc a dc

4r 3
V ~ (3b )
3

R.Flescher,Acta Metall.11,203(1963)

e.g.Tetragonaldistortion: TET =Gb(c/b)=Gc

In localforce model,spacingbetweensoluteisL =b/(2c) duetosoluteatoms
inthe2planes immediatelyadjacenttoslipplanegiving2(c/b2)atoms/area.
Inmostmaterials,elasticinteractionenergyconcerns(i.e.sizeand
moduluseffects)dominatestrengthening.
However,insomematerialschemicalandelectricalfactors arealso
significant.Electricalinteraction arisesfromthefactthatsomeof
thechargeassociatedwithsoluteatomsofdissimilarvalence
remainslocalizedaroundthesoluteatom.
Forexample,inionicsolidstheadditionofsoluteatomswith
differentvalencethanthesolventwillaltertheelectroniccharge
distributionandenergy.
Thiscanleadtointeractionswithdislocationsthatcanproduce
substantialstrengthening.
Theadditionofadivalentiontoamonovalent crystalproducesa
tetragonaldistortionandcanleadtosignificantelectrical
interactionsbetweentheimpurityandtheionsthatcomprisethe
dislocation.
Thetetragonaldistortiongenerallyproducesthelargestcomponent
ofstrengthening.
 TetragonalDistortion Examples

Tetragonaldefectsarestrong obstaclestodislocationglide.
Substitutional atomsproducespherical/uniformlatticestrainsandare
weak obstacles.
 Othertypesofsolidsolutionstrengthening/hardening
StackingFaultEnergy(SFE);Inmaterialscontainingstackingfaults,
soluteatomscanpreferentiallysegregatetothestackingfault(e.g.,
Suzukiatmospheres)ormayberepelledawayfromthem.
ThislowerstheSFEforthesolidwhichcanleadtohardening.
Orderhardening;Atomicorderingcanalsoproducesignificant
strengthening.Shortrangeorderinteraction arisesfromthe
tendencyofsoluteatomstoarrangethemselvessothattheyhave
morethantheequilibriumnumberofdissimilarneighbors.The
oppositeofshortrangeorderisclustering wherethesoluteatoms
tendtogrouptogetherinregionsofthelattice.
Longrangeorder arisesfromalloysthatformsuperlattices (long
rangeperiodicarrangementofdissimilaratoms).Themovementof
dislocationsthroughthesuperlattice createsregionsofdisorder
calledantiphaseboundaries(APB)becausetheatomsacrosstheslip
planehavebecomeoutofphase.
 MechanicalEffectsAssociatedwithSolidSolutions
WelldefinedYieldPointinthestressstraincurve
Curvecharacteristicforannealedlowcarbonsteel.Therearetwomain
theories(a)CottrellBilby:Dislocationsinannealedsteels(~107cm2)
arelockedbysoluteatoms(CandNhaveagreatermobility).When
thestressisincreaseditreachesapointwhenthedislocationisunlock.
Thestressrequiredtomoveanunlockeddislocationislessthan the
stressnecessarytofreethemcausingayielddrop.
 Withoutyieldpoint Withyieldpoint

A:Yieldstress(offset)
B:Upperyieldpoint
C:Loweryieldpoint*
D:Yieldstress(proportional)
D:UltimatetensileStrength
E:Rupturestress*
F:Uniformstrain
G:Straintofailure*
H:Ldersstrain
Areaundercurve:*Workoffracture,
Toughness(notsameasFracture
Toughness)
YieldPointPhenomenon
Metals,particularlylowcarbonsteel,showalocalizedheterogeneous
transitionfromelastictoplasticdeformation.Yieldpointelongation.
Theloadaftertheupperyieldpointsuddenlydroptoapproximately
constantvalue(loweryieldpoint)andthenriseswithfurtherstrain.
Theelongationwhichoccursatconstantloadiscalledtheyieldpoint
elongation,whichareheterogeneousdeformation.

Lder bandsorstretcher
strainsareformedat
approximately45oto
thetensileaxisduring
yieldpointelongation
andpropagateoverthe
specimen.
PlateauinthestressstraincurveafterthewelldefinedYieldPoint
orLuders Bands

Inthestressstraincurveaplateauregioninwhichtheloadfluctuates
aroundacertainvaluefollowstheloaddrop.Theelongationthat
occursinthisplateauiscalledtheyieldpointelongation.It
correspondstoaregionofnonhomogeneousdeformation.A
deformationbandappearsanditpropagatesthroughthetestsample.
Thedeformationisrestrictedtotheinterface.
ThisdeformationbandisknownastheLuders Band.

Luders bandformationduringthestampingoflowcarbonsteels
leadtoirregularitiesinthefinalsheetthickness.Itcanbeovercome
by(a) Changingthealloycompositiontoeliminatetheyieldpoint
(steelwithsmalladditionsofTi,Al,V,Nb,etc);(b) prestressingthe
sheetaboveitsyieldpoint.
Theupperyieldpoint
Theonsetofgeneralyieldingoccursatastresswheretha average
dislocationsourcescancreateslipbandsthroughagoodvolumeofthe
material. = +
y s i

s stress to operate the dislocation sources

i friction stress (combining effect of all the obstacles to the motion of the dislocations)

Theupperyieldpointisassociatedwithsmallamountsofinterstitialor
substitutional impurities.Thesoluteatoms(CorN)inlowcarbonsteel,
lockthedislocations,raisetheinitialyieldstress.
Thebreakawaystressrequiredtopulladislocationlineawayfromaline
ofsoluteatomsis A
2 2 A = 4Gba 3
b ro
a istheatomicradius;ro isthedistancefromthelineofthe
dislocationtothesoluteatom; isthemisfitstrainandbtheBurgers
vector;
Whenthedislocationispulledfreefromthesoluteatoms,slipcan
occuratlowerstress.Theloweryieldpoint.
Themagnitudeoftheyieldpointeffectdependsoninteraction
energy,concentrationofsoluteatoms.

StrainAgeing
Asteelsubjectedtoatensiletestwasstoppedunloadedandreloaded
immediately.Uponreloadingthesampledidnotshowawelldefined
yieldpoint.However,onreloadingafterwaitingforcertaintime(3
hours)thestressstraincurveshowedawelldefinedyieldpointanda
plateau.Thisphenomenonisknownasstrainageing.Itisexplainedby
themigrationofinterstitialatomstothedislocationduringthetest
stoppage,leadingtodislocation.
Strainageingisaphenomenoninwhichthemetalincreaseinstrength
whilelosingductilityafterbeingheatedatrelativelylowtemperature
orcoldworking.

ThisreappearanceoftheyieldpointisduetothediffusionofCandN
atomstoanchorthedislocations.
NhasmorestrainageingeffectinironthanCduetoahigher
solubilityanddiffusioncoefficient.
Stretcherstrains
Strainageingshouldbeeliminatedindeepdrawingsteelsinceitleads
tosurfacemarkingorstretcherstrains.
Tosolvetheproblem,theamountofCandNshouldbeloweredby
addingelementssuchasAl,V,Ti,Btoformcarbidesornitrides.
H=yieldpoint
elongation
SerratedStressStrainCurve
ThisaremanifestationsofthePortevinLeChatelier Effect.These
irregularitiescanbecausedbytheinteractionofsoluteatomswith
dislocations,mechanicaltwinning,stressassistedmartensitic
transformation.ThefirsttypeisknownasthePLeCh effect.Itoccurs
withinaspecifictemperatureandstrainraterange.Soluteatomsbeing
abletodiffuseinthesampleataspeedgreaterthanthedisplacement
speedofthedislocations.
BlueBrittleness
Carbonsteelsheatedintherange230and370oCshowanotable
reductioninelongation.Thisphenomenonisduetotheinteractionof
dislocationsinmotionwiththesoluteatoms(CandN).Whenthe
speedoftheinterstitialatomsismorethanthatofthedislocations,
thelatterarecontinuallycapturebytheformer.

Bluebrittlenessoccursinplaincarbonsteelinwhichdiscontinuous
yieldingappearsinthetemperaturerange500to650K.
Duringthisbluebrittlenessregion,steelsshow
Decreasedtensileductility.
Decreasednotchedimpactresistance.
Minimumstrainratesensitivity.
Note:Thisisjustanacceleratedstrainagingbytemperature.
 STRENGTHENINGBYGRAINSIZEREDUCTION
Thestrengtheninginpolycrystals dueto
grainboundarieshasbeenexperimentally
establishedeversinceHall(Hall1951;Petch Before
1953)proposedhisrelationbetweenthe deformation
grainsizeandtheyieldstress.
Afterdeformation
Allofthestretchingisawayfromthe
grainboundaries.
Dislocationmotiontakesplacewhena
criticalresolvedshearstressisreached.
Dislocationscannotpenetrategrain
boundaries,becausethecrystalplanes
arediscontinuousattheg.b..
Therefore,makingasmallergrainsize
increasesstrength(moreobstaclesand
shortermeanslipdistance).
 AdaptedfromFig.7.12,Callister6e.

Grainboundariesarebarrierstoslip. (Fig.7.12isfromATextbookofMaterialsTechnology,byVan
Vlack,PearsonEducation,Inc.,UpperSaddleRiver,NJ.)

Barrier"strength increaseswith
misorientation.
slip plane B
Smallergrainsize: morebarriersto in
a
slip. gr
grain A

gr
HallPetchEquation:

ain
1/ 2
yield = o + k y d

bo
u
Why?

nd
ar
y
DislocationG.B.Interactions
G.B.impedemotionofdislocationsalong
entirelengthofdisl.Line.
ExpectG.B.tobemoreefficientat
pinningthandislocationobstacles.
Stresstoactivatedislocationmotionfora
givengrainincreaseswithnumberof
dislocationspileupattheGBdueto
stressconcentration.
Forinfinitegrain,YSisintrinsicvalueofsinglecrystalslip.
Forfiniteanddecreasinggrainsize,YSincreases. FromIanRobertson,UIUC
Influenceofgrainsizeonyield
strength (brass)
Strengthtriplesasgrainsize
goesfrom100mto5m.

0.75mm
Fig.4.11(c),Callister6e.

Asd,ys andtheductilityor oritisconstant

 y = 0 (T ) + k y d 1/ 2

d =grainsize

Notehowinterceptdependson
temperature.Slopedoesnt.

N.J.Petch,Fracture,ProceedingsofSwampscottConference1959,p.54.
 OfthedifferentmodelstoexplaintheHallPetch behaviour,three
fundamentallydifferentapproachescanbeidentified,namelypile
upmodels,dislocationdensitymodelsandcompositemodels.

PileUpModel(Hall1951,withsubsequentmodificationsbyPetch1953andCottrell1964).
Thebasicideaisthatdislocationsareassumedtopileupagainsta
grainboundary,therebycausingastressconcentration.Whenthe
stressconcentrationequalsacriticalstress,assumedtoactivate
newdislocationsources,yieldingstartsinthenextgrain.The
simplestpileupwecanimagineisasinglelayerpileup,as
illustratedinthefigurebelow.
Thenumberofdislocationsinasinglelayerpileup,asafunctionof
theappliedstressandpileuplength,hasbeenderivedbyEshelby et
al.(Eshelby,Franketal.1951).Thepileuplengthisthenproportional
tothegrainsizeandgoingthroughthealgebrawecanwritethe
tensileshearstressas:

Attractivefeaturesofthistheory.
(a)Itgivesanexplanationforthesharpyieldpointbehaviorinlow
carbonsteels.
(b)itisconsistentwiththeinhomogeneousnatureofplastic
yieldinginthesesteels.
Majordrawbacksisthatitisnotreallyapplicabletoallsystems
(e.g.fccmetals)andtherearenodirectobservationsofpileups
reportedintheliterature.
DislocationPileup
d
Grainboundary

Forceonleaddislocation
=Nb2
FrankReadsource

FrankReadsourcestops
N.321 emittingdislocationswhen
backstresscausedby
source dislocationloopsbecomes
sufficientlyhightoshut

downsource.
 DislocationPileup
Superdislocation,with
d Burgersvector=Nb
Whenthisconditionismet,

thedislocationsourceshuts
down:
N.321 I + * =
Thisconditiondetermines
source numberofdislocations

generatedbysource.

G ( Nb)
Stressfieldarounddislocation ~ Gb / 2r r
2r *
* = friction stress
I = back stress caused by dislocation pileup
G ( Nb) d/4 Nb

2(d/ 4 )
Nb
Physicalpicture#2:yieldingbeginswhenstressfrompileup
activatessourceinneighboringgrain

Numberofdislocationsin
pileup(superdislocation): Physicalpicture:
d ( *) f*:forceonleadingdislocation
N= necessarytoallowittoescape
2Gb
Atyielding,
f* f * = Nb( *)
d ( *)2
=
2G

y = * +(2 f * G / )d 1 / 2

= * +k y d 1 / 2
Physicalpicture#2:yieldingbeginswhenstressfrompileup
activatessourceinneighboringgrain

s*:source
s* Stressatsourceinneighboring
grainduetopileup:
r*
d /2
r ( *)
r*

Yieldingbeginsoncestress
atsourcereachesthreshold:

y = * + r (2r * / d )
y 1/ 2

= * +k y d 1 / 2
 d=grainsize

AtlowT,yieldingresultsincracks
Effectofgrainsize:Bothyield&fracturestressareincreased;
DuctilebrittletransitionsenttolowerT.
FracturestressatT2<T1

FracturestressatT1

YieldstressatT2<T1

YieldstressatT1

brittle ductile

1 / 2
d
DislocationDensityModels
TheyareallbasedonAshby'soriginalmodel(Ashby1970).
Assumethatthestrengtheningduetodislocationscanbeseparated
intotwodifferentcontributions,namelythatfromstatistically stored
dislocationsS,andthatfromgeometricallynecessarydislocationsG.
S isgrainsizeindependentwhileG dependsonthegrainsize.

m
WhereistheaverageTaylorfactoranddisthegrainsize.The
dislocationdensityS isgovernedbythegeometricalslipdistanceLS,
intheinteriorofthegrainswherethedeformationisassumedtobe
uniform.
Thenonuniformdeformationinthegrain
boundaryregionisaccommodatedbythe
introductionofgeometricallynecessary
dislocations.Thesecanbeseenasthestrain
bearersneededtoaccountfortheplastic
incompatibilitiesinbetweengrains(Ashby
1970).
Deformationofpolycrystal grainsinanuniformmanner,causingvoidsandoverlaps(topright),this
arecorrectedbytheintroductionofgeometricallynecessarydislocations(bottomright),takenfrom
Ashby(Ashby1970).

Theflowstresscanthen,intheusualfashion,beexpressedas
proportionaltothesquarerootofthetotaldislocationdensity,which
leadsto:

Inthecasewheregrainboundarystrengthening
dominates,LS>>C1b,i.e.thedeformationis
inhomogeneous,(i.e.G >S)theaboveequation
reducesto,
CompositeFlowStressModels
Athirdtypeofapproachistheideaofdescribingtheflowstressasthe
sumofthecontributionfromgrainboundariesandthecontribution
fromgraininteriors.Anumberofdifferentvariantshavebeen
proposed(Hirth 1972;Thompson,Baskes etal.1973;Meyersand
Ashworth1982).
Thompsonetal.(ThompsonandBaskes 1973;Thompson,Baskes etal.
1973;Thompson1975;Thompson1975)developedamodelto
describetheHallPetch behavioroffccmetalsbycombiningconcepts
fromAshby'smodelwithacompositetypemodel(Hirth 1972).They
assumedthedislocationdensityinthegrainboundaryregionG,tobe
inverselyproportionaltothegrainsizebutindependentofstrain.In
theirexpression,thestatisticaldensityofdislocationswasestimated
tobeinverselyproportionaltothegeometricalslipdistance,LS.The
contributionstotheflowstressfromthedifferentareafractionswere
thenadded,usingaruleofmixtures.Assumingtheareaofthegrain
boundaryregionasLS/d,thisleadstothefollowingexpressionforthe
flowstress:
WhenLS approachesd,thegrainsize,i.e.atverysmallstrains,the
aboveexpressionreducestothetraditionalform,withK2 equaltok.
ThephysicalsignificanceofK2 isnotveryclear,butitshouldbasically
havethesamemeaningasC2 inAshby'smodelalthoughthe
interpretationisnotasstraightforward.