Strong crystal size effect on deformation twinning

Qian Yu, Zhi-Wei Shan, Ju Li (), Xiaoxu Huang, Lin Xiao, Jun Sun () and Evan Ma
Additional contact information
Qian Yu: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Zhi-Wei Shan: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Ju Li: University of Pennsylvania
Xiaoxu Huang: Danish-Chinese Center for Nanometals, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark
Lin Xiao: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Jun Sun: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Evan Ma: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University

Nature, 2010, vol. 463, issue 7279, 335-338

Abstract: Crystal deformation to scale There are two main mechanisms at play when a crystal undergoes deformation: ordinary dislocation plasticity and deformation twinning. While the former is known to be dependent on the size of the crystal, hence influencing sample strength at the nanoscale, the latter's size dependence has not been explored to date. Ju Li and colleagues show, using microcompression and nanoindentation experiments, that deformation twinning is completely suppressed in crystals smaller than a micrometre in size, giving way to ordinary dislocation plasticity as the only deformation mode. This may be because deformation twinning is a collective phenomenon that cannot operate for small crystal sizes. The discovery paves the way for new approaches to manipulating the mechanical properties of materials at the microscale.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08692

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