Gradient nanostructured steel with superior tensile plasticity

Shang, Zhongxia; Sun, Tianyi; Ding, Jie; Richter, Nicholas A.; Heckman, Nathan M.; White, Benjamin C.; Boyce, Brad L.; Hattar, Khalid; Wang, Haiyan; Zhang, Xinghang

doi:10.1126/sciadv.add9780

Gradient nanostructured steel with superior tensile plasticity

Journal Article · Wed May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Science Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add9780· OSTI ID:2471813

^[1]; ^[2]; Ding, Jie ^[2]; Richter, Nicholas A. ^[2]; Heckman, Nathan M. ^[3]; White, Benjamin C. ^[3]; ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[2]; ^[2]

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (United States); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Nanostructured metallic materials with abundant high-angle grain boundaries exhibit high strength and good radiation resistance. While the nanoscale grains induce high strength, they also degrade tensile ductility. We show that a gradient nanostructured ferritic steel exhibits simultaneous improvement in yield strength by 36% and uniform elongation by 50% compared to the homogenously structured counterpart. In situ tension studies coupled with electron backscattered diffraction analyses reveal intricate coordinated deformation mechanisms in the gradient structures. The outermost nanolaminate grains sustain a substantial plastic strain via a profound deformation mechanism involving prominent grain reorientation. This synergistic plastic co-deformation process alters the rupture mode in the post-necking regime, thus delaying the onset of fracture. The present discovery highlights the intrinsic plasticity of nanolaminate grains and their significance in simultaneous improvement of strength and tensile ductility of structural metallic materials.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525; NE0008787

OSTI ID:: 2471813

Journal Information:: Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 9; ISSN 2375-2548

Publisher:: AAASCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (95)

Simultaneously Increasing the Ductility and Strength of Nanostructured Alloys Zhao, Y. H.; Liao, X. Z.; Cheng, S. Advanced Materials, Vol. 18, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200600310	journal	September 2006
The Relationship between the Work‐Hardening of B.C.C. and F.C.C. Metals Šesták, B.; Seeger, A. physica status solidi (b), Vol. 43, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.2220430146	journal	January 1971
Mapping and Assessing Plastic Deformation Using EBSD Brewer, Luke N.; Field, David P.; Merriman, Colin C. Electron Backscatter Diffraction in Materials Science https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88136-2_18	book	January 2009
An investigation of the plastic fracture of AISI 4340 and 18 Nickel-200 grade maraging steels Cox, T. B.; Low, J. R. Metallurgical Transactions, Vol. 5, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02646633	journal	June 1974
Some observations of grain boundary ledges and ledges as dislocation sources in metals and alloys Murr, L. E. Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02658408	journal	March 1975
Enhancement of strength and ductility in ultrafine-grained T91 steel through thermomechanical treatments Song, M.; Zhu, R.; Foley, D. C. Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 48, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7522-3	journal	July 2013
A Review of Fatigue Behavior in Nanocrystalline Metals Padilla, H. A.; Boyce, B. L. Experimental Mechanics, Vol. 50, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-009-9301-2	journal	October 2009
Eight routes to improve the tensile ductility of bulk nanostructured metals and alloys Ma, E. JOM, Vol. 58, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-006-0215-5	journal	April 2006
Some geometrical relations in dislocated crystals Nye, J. F. Acta Metallurgica, Vol. 1, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6160(53)90054-6	journal	March 1953
Grain size measurement by the intercept method Abrams, Halle Metallography, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0026-0800(71)90005-X	journal	February 1971
Strain gradient plasticity: Theory and experiment Fleck, N. A.; Muller, G. M.; Ashby, M. F. Acta Metallurgica et Materialia, Vol. 42, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0956-7151(94)90502-9	journal	February 1994
Tensile properties of ferritic/martensitic steels irradiated in HFIR, and comparison with spallation irradiation data Farrell, K.; Byun, T. S. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 318 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3115(03)00102-8	journal	May 2003
Microstructure and mechanical properties of newly developed low activation martensitic steels Victoria, M.; Gavillet, D.; Spätig, P. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 233-237 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3115(96)00133-X	journal	October 1996
Surface nanocrystallization of iron induced by ultrasonic shot peening Tao, N. R.; Sui, M. L.; Lu, J. Nanostructured Materials, Vol. 11, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0965-9773(99)00324-4	journal	June 1999
Effects of Impurity on Microstructure and Hardness in Pure Al Subjected to Dynamic Plastic Deformation at Cryogenic Temperature Huang, F.; Tao, N. R.; Lu, K. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, Vol. 27, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1005-0302(11)60117-5	journal	January 2011
Quantifying the Microstructures of Pure Cu Subjected to Dynamic Plastic Deformation at Cryogenic Temperature Yan, F.; Zhang, H. W.; Tao, N. R. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, Vol. 27, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1005-0302(11)60124-2	journal	August 2011
Mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals and alloys11The Golden Jubilee Issue—Selected topics in Materials Science and Engineering: Past, Present and Future, edited by S. Suresh Kumar, K. S.; Van Swygenhoven, H.; Suresh, S. Acta Materialia, Vol. 51, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2003.08.032	journal	November 2003
Direct observation of deformation-induced grain growth during the nanoindentation of ultrafine-grained Al at room temperature Jin, M.; Minor, A. M.; Stach, E. A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 52, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2004.07.044	journal	October 2004
Bauschinger and size effects in thin-film plasticity Xiang, Y.; Vlassak, J. J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 54, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2006.06.059	journal	December 2006
In situ TEM observations of fast grain-boundary motion in stressed nanocrystalline aluminum films Legros, Marc; Gianola, Daniel S.; Hemker, Kevin J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 56, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2008.03.032	journal	August 2008
Effect of the Zener–Hollomon parameter on the microstructures and mechanical properties of Cu subjected to plastic deformation Li, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Tao, N. Acta Materialia, Vol. 57, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2008.10.021	journal	February 2009
Quantification of the microstructures of high purity nickel subjected to dynamic plastic deformation Luo, Z. P.; Zhang, H. W.; Hansen, N. Acta Materialia, Vol. 60, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2011.11.035	journal	February 2012
Response of equal channel angular extrusion processed ultrafine-grained T91 steel subjected to high temperature heavy ion irradiation Song, M.; Wu, Y. D.; Chen, D. Acta Materialia, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.04.034	journal	August 2014
Fatigue behaviors of AISI 316L stainless steel with a gradient nanostructured surface layer Huang, H. W.; Wang, Z. B.; Lu, J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 87 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.12.057	journal	April 2015
Formation of nano-laminated structure in nickel by means of surface mechanical grinding treatment Liu, X. C.; Zhang, H. W.; Lu, K. Acta Materialia, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.06.014	journal	September 2015
Failure of metals I: Brittle and ductile fracture Pineau, A.; Benzerga, A. A.; Pardoen, T. Acta Materialia, Vol. 107 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.12.034	journal	April 2016
A roadmap for tailoring the strength and ductility of ferritic/martensitic T91 steel via thermo-mechanical treatment Song, M.; Sun, C.; Fan, Z. Acta Materialia, Vol. 112 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.04.031	journal	June 2016
Combining gradient structure and TRIP effect to produce austenite stainless steel with high strength and ductility Wu, X. L.; Yang, M. X.; Yuan, F. P. Acta Materialia, Vol. 112 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.04.045	journal	June 2016
Simultaneous improvement of strength and plasticity: Additional work-hardening from gradient microstructure Shao, C. W.; Zhang, P.; Zhu, Y. K. Acta Materialia, Vol. 145 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.12.028	journal	February 2018
Mechanical behavior of structurally gradient nickel alloy Ding, Jie; Li, Q.; Li, Jin Acta Materialia, Vol. 149 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2018.02.021	journal	May 2018
On a novel strain indicator based on uncorrelated misorientation angles for correlating dislocation density to local strength Guglielmi, Paula O.; Ziehmer, Markus; Lilleodden, Erica T. Acta Materialia, Vol. 150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2018.03.009	journal	May 2018
The mechanisms of ductile rupture Noell, Philip J.; Carroll, Jay D.; Boyce, Brad L. Acta Materialia, Vol. 161 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2018.09.006	journal	December 2018
Tailoring the strength and ductility of T91 steel by partial tempering treatment Shang, Z.; Ding, Jie; Fan, C. Acta Materialia, Vol. 169 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.02.043	journal	May 2019
He ion irradiation response of a gradient T91 steel Shang, Zhongxia; Ding, Jie; Fan, Cuncai Acta Materialia, Vol. 196 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.06.019	journal	September 2020
Oxidation mechanism of an Fe–9Cr–1Mo steel by liquid Pb–Bi eutectic alloy at 470°C (Part II) Martinelli, L.; Balbaud-Célérier, F.; Terlain, A. Corrosion Science, Vol. 50, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2008.06.051	journal	September 2008
Gradient plasticity in gradient nano-grained metals Zeng, Zhi; Li, Xiaoyan; Xu, Dongsheng Extreme Mechanics Letters, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.2015.12.005	journal	September 2016
Dense dispersed shear bands in gradient-structured Ni Wang, Yanfei; Huang, Chongxiang; Li, Yusheng International Journal of Plasticity, Vol. 124 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2019.08.012	journal	January 2020
Issues in replacing Cr–Mo steels and stainless steels with 9Cr–1Mo–V steel Swindeman, R. W.; Santella, M. L.; Maziasz, P. J. International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, Vol. 81, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2003.12.009	journal	June 2004
Dislocation nucleation from bicrystal interfaces and grain boundary ledges: Relationship to nanocrystalline deformation Capolungo, L.; Spearot, D. E.; Cherkaoui, M. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 55, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2007.04.001	journal	November 2007
Tensile behaviour of 9Cr–1Mo tempered martensitic steels irradiated up to 20dpa in a spallation environment Henry, J.; Averty, X.; Dai, Y. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 377, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.02.027	journal	June 2008
Tensile properties of ferritic/martensitic steels irradiated in STIP-I Dai, Y.; Long, B.; Tong, Z. F. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 377, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.02.036	journal	June 2008
Behavior of ferritic/martensitic steels after n-irradiation at 200 and 300°C Matijasevic, M.; Lucon, E.; Almazouzi, A. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 377, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.02.063	journal	June 2008
Tensile properties of the ferritic martensitic steel F82H after irradiation in a spallation target Tong, Z.; Dai, Y. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 385, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.12.015	journal	March 2009
Tensile and impact properties of 9Cr tempered martensitic steels and ODS-FeCr alloys irradiated in a fast reactor at 325°C up to 78dpa Henry, J.; Averty, X.; Alamo, A. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 417, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2010.12.203	journal	October 2011
SANS and TEM of ferritic–martensitic steel T91 irradiated in FFTF up to 184dpa at 413°C Van den Bosch, J.; Anderoglu, O.; Dickerson, R. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 440, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.04.025	journal	September 2013
Characterization and comparative analysis of the tensile properties of five tempered martensitic steels and an oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic alloy irradiated at ≈295 °C to ≈6.5 dpa Maloy, S. A.; Saleh, T. A.; Anderoglu, O. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 468 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.07.039	journal	January 2016
Enhanced oxidation resistance of a reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel in liquid Pb-Bi eutectic alloy by preforming a gradient nanostructured surface layer Zhang, W. H.; Wang, Z. B.; Lu, K. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 507 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.04.042	journal	August 2018
In situ SEM-EBSD analysis of plastic deformation mechanisms in neutron-irradiated austenitic steel Gussev, M. N.; Leonard, K. J. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 517 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.01.034	journal	April 2019
On the exceptional damage-tolerance of gradient metallic materials Cao, Ruqing; Yu, Qin; Pan, Jie Materials Today, Vol. 32 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2019.09.023	journal	January 2020
Nanostructured surface layer on metallic materials induced by surface mechanical attrition treatment Lu, K.; Lu, J. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 375-377 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2003.10.261	journal	July 2004
Orientation gradients and geometrically necessary dislocations in ultrafine grained dual-phase steels studied by 2D and 3D EBSD Calcagnotto, Marion; Ponge, Dirk; Demir, Eralp Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 527, Issue 10-11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2010.01.004	journal	April 2010
Improving mechanical properties of heterogeneous Mg-Gd alloy laminate via accumulated extrusion bonding Liu, Shuaishuai; Zhang, Junlei; Chen, Xiang Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 785 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2020.139324	journal	May 2020
Microstructure and tensile behavior of nanostructured gradient TWIP steel Ding, Jie; Shang, Z.; Li, Jin Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 785 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2020.139346	journal	May 2020
A grain-size-dependent structure evolution in gradient-structured (GS) Ni under tension Lin, Yan; Pan, Jie; Luo, Zhaoping Nano Materials Science, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoms.2019.12.004	journal	March 2020
Development of an in situ ion irradiation scanning electron microscope Lang, E. J.; Heckman, N. M.; Clark, T. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 537 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2023.01.016	journal	April 2023
Review on superior strength and enhanced ductility of metallic nanomaterials Ovid'ko, I. A.; Valiev, R. Z.; Zhu, Y. T. Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 94 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2018.02.002	journal	May 2018
Radiation damage in nanostructured materials Zhang, Xinghang; Hattar, Khalid; Chen, Youxing Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2018.03.002	journal	July 2018
Heterostructured materials Zhu, Yuntian; Wu, Xiaolei Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 131 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.101019	journal	January 2023
Tensile properties of copper with nano-scale twins Shen, Y. F.; Lu, L.; Lu, Q. H. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 52, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2005.01.033	journal	May 2005
Grain boundary dislocation sources in nanocrystalline copper Tschopp, M. A.; McDowell, D. L. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 58, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2007.10.010	journal	February 2008
Fabrication of a gradient nano-micro-structured surface layer on bulk copper by means of a surface mechanical grinding treatment Li, W. L.; Tao, N. R.; Lu, K. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 59, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2008.05.003	journal	September 2008
Dislocation emission from deformation-distorted grain boundaries in ultrafine-grained materials Ovid’ko, I. A.; Sheinerman, A. G.; Valiev, R. Z. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 76 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2013.12.012	journal	April 2014
Tension-induced softening and hardening in gradient nanograined surface layer in copper Fang, T. H.; Tao, N. R.; Lu, K. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 77 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2014.01.006	journal	April 2014
Heterostructure induced dispersive shear bands in heterostructured Cu Wang, Y. F.; Huang, C. X.; He, Q. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2019.05.036	journal	September 2019
High tensile ductility in a nanostructured metal Wang, Yinmin; Chen, Mingwei; Zhou, Fenghua Nature, Vol. 419, Issue 6910 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01133	journal	October 2002
Evading the strength–ductility trade-off dilemma in steel through gradient hierarchical nanotwins Wei, Yujie; Li, Yongqiang; Zhu, Lianchun Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4580	journal	April 2014
Grain rotation mediated by grain boundary dislocations in nanocrystalline platinum Wang, Lihua; Teng, Jiao; Liu, Pan Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5402	journal	July 2014
Nanostructured high-strength molybdenum alloys with unprecedented tensile ductility Liu, G.; Zhang, G. J.; Jiang, F. Nature Materials, Vol. 12, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3544	journal	January 2013
Ultrastrong nanocrystalline steel with exceptional thermal stability and radiation tolerance Du, Congcong; Jin, Shenbao; Fang, Yuan Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07712-x	journal	December 2018
Rapid stress-driven grain coarsening in nanocrystalline Cu at ambient and cryogenic temperatures Zhang, Kai; Weertman, J. R.; Eastman, J. A. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 87, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2008377	journal	August 2005
Deformation-induced grain rotation and growth in nanocrystalline Ni Wang, Y. B.; Li, B. Q.; Sui, M. L. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 92, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2828699	journal	January 2008
Extraordinary strain hardening by gradient structure Wu, X.; Jiang, P.; Chen, L. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1324069111	journal	May 2014
Heterogeneous lamella structure unites ultrafine-grain strength with coarse-grain ductility Wu, Xiaolei; Yang, Muxin; Yuan, Fuping Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 47 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1517193112	journal	November 2015
TEM in situ deformation study of the interaction of lattice dislocations with grain boundaries in metals Lee, T. C.; Robertson, I. M.; Birnbaum, H. K. Philosophical Magazine A, Vol. 62, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/01418619008244340	journal	July 1990
The deformation of plastically non-homogeneous materials Ashby, M. F. The Philosophical Magazine: A Journal of Theoretical Experimental and Applied Physics, Vol. 21, Issue 170 https://doi.org/10.1080/14786437008238426	journal	February 1970
Synergetic Strengthening by Gradient Structure Wu, X. L.; Jiang, P.; Chen, L. Materials Research Letters, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2014.935821	journal	July 2014
Back stress strengthening and strain hardening in gradient structure Yang, Muxin; Pan, Yue; Yuan, Fuping Materials Research Letters, Vol. 4, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2016.1153004	journal	March 2016
Enhanced fatigue property by suppressing surface cracking in a gradient nanostructured bearing steel Zhang, K.; Wang, Z. B.; Lu, K. Materials Research Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2016.1253625	journal	November 2016
Heterogeneous materials: a new class of materials with unprecedented mechanical properties Wu, Xiaolei; Zhu, Yuntian Materials Research Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2017.1343208	journal	June 2017
Perspective on hetero-deformation induced (HDI) hardening and back stress Zhu, Yuntian; Wu, Xiaolei Materials Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2019.1616331	journal	May 2019
Atomic mechanism for dislocation emission from nanosized grain boundaries Van Swygenhoven, H.; Derlet, P. M.; Hasnaoui, A. Physical Review B, Vol. 66, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.66.024101	journal	June 2002
Size Dependence of Grain Boundary Migration in Metals under Mechanical Loading Zhou, Xin; Li, Xiuyan; Lu, K. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 122, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.126101	journal	March 2019
Hierarchical 3D Nanolayered Duplex-Phase Zr with High Strength, Strain Hardening, and Ductility Zhang, Jie-Wen; Beyerlein, Irene J.; Han, Wei-Zhong Physical Review Letters, Vol. 122, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.255501	journal	June 2019
Mechanical Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Copper Li, James C. M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 96, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.215506	journal	June 2006
Grain Boundary-Mediated Plasticity in Nanocrystalline Nickel Shan, Z. Science, Vol. 305, Issue 5684 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1098741	journal	July 2004
Experimental Observations of Stress-Driven Grain Boundary Migration Rupert, T. J.; Gianola, D. S.; Gan, Y. Science, Vol. 326, Issue 5960 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1178226	journal	December 2009
Revealing Extraordinary Intrinsic Tensile Plasticity in Gradient Nano-Grained Copper Fang, T. H.; Li, W. L.; Tao, N. R. Science, Vol. 331, Issue 6024 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200177	journal	February 2011
Strain-Induced Ultrahard and Ultrastable Nanolaminated Structure in Nickel Liu, X. C.; Zhang, H. W.; Lu, K. Science, Vol. 342, Issue 6156 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1242578	journal	October 2013
Enhanced thermal stability of nanograined metals below a critical grain size Zhou, X.; Li, X. Y.; Lu, K. Science, Vol. 360, Issue 6388 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar6941	journal	May 2018
Extra strengthening and work hardening in gradient nanotwinned metals Cheng, Zhao; Zhou, Haofei; Lu, Qiuhong Science, Vol. 362, Issue 6414 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau1925	journal	November 2018
Gradient cell–structured high-entropy alloy with exceptional strength and ductility Pan, Qingsong; Zhang, Liangxue; Feng, Rui Science, Vol. 374, Issue 6570 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj8114	journal	November 2021
Elevated temperature ferritic and martensitic steels and their application to future nuclear reactors Klueh, R. L. International Materials Reviews, Vol. 50, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1179/174328005X41140	journal	October 2005
Development of creep-resistant steels and alloys for use in power plants Abe, F. Structural Alloys for Power Plants https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857097552.2.250	book	August 2014
Dislocation–grain boundary interactions in martensitic steel observed through in situ nanoindentation in a transmission electron microscope Ohmura, T.; Minor, A. M.; Stach, E. A. Journal of Materials Research, Vol. 19, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2004.0474	journal	December 2004
Back Stress Work Hardening Confirmed by Bauschinger Effect in a TRIP Steel Using Bending Tests Kato, Hiroyuki; Moat, Richard; Mori, Tsutomu ISIJ International, Vol. 54, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.2355/isijinternational.54.1715	journal	January 2014