Grain Boundary Internal Friction Peak in Nanocrystalline Aluminum Studied by Continuously Changing-Temperature

The bulk nanocrystalline aluminum are fabricated by cryomilling and hot-press sintering. The internal friction (IF) and relative dynamic modulus measurements in the nanocrystalline aluminum (Al) have been made using a multifunction internal friction apparatus (MFIFA) at low frequencies (0.2-3.0 Hz) over the wide temperature ranges from room temperature to 450 °C, while continuously changing-temperature forced vibration measurement. In the temperature spectrums of IF during heating process and cooling process, a distinct IF peak is found. Corresponding to the IF peak, the relative dynamic modulus decreases rapidly. The peak temperature of the IF peak shifts towards higher temperature with increasing frequency, i.e., the IF peak seem due to the thermal activated relaxation process. The IF peak is a grain boundary IF peak, which is associated with the diffusive grain boundary of Al/Al. Its activation energy has been calculated to be 2.21±0.04×10-19J and the pre-exponential factor is 10-14s in IF measurements.