Novel shear mechanism in nanolayered composites
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
Recent studies have shown that two-phase nanocomposite materials with semicoherent interfaces exhibit enhanced strength, deformability, and radiation damage resistance. The remarkable behavior exhibited by these materials has been attributed to the atomistic structure of the bi-metal interface that results in interfaces with low shear strength and hence, strong barriers for slip transmission due to dislocation core spreading along the weak interfaces. In this work, the low interfacial shear strength of Cu/Nb nanoscale multilayers dictates a new mechanism for shear banding and strain softening during micropillar compression. Previous work investigating shear band formation in nanocrystalline materials has shown a connection between insufficient strain hardening and the onset of shear banding in Fe and Fe-10% Cu, but has also shown that hardening does not necessarily offset shear banding in Pd nanomaterials. Therefore, the mechanisms behind shear localization in nanocrystalline materials are not completely understood. Our findings, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, provide insight on the design of nanocomposites with tailored interface structures and geometry to obtain a combination of high strength and deformability. High strength is derived from the ability of the interfaces to trap dislocations through relative ease of interfacial shear, while deformability can be maximized by controlling the effects of loading geometry on shear band formation.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 979650
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-09-07821; LA-UR-09-7821; TRN: US201011%%348
- Journal Information:
- Nature Materials, Journal Name: Nature Materials
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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