Continuous strengthening in nanotwinned diamond

Strengths of nanograined (ng) and nanotwinned (nt) metals increase with decreasing grain size and twin thickness, respectively, until reaching a critical value, below which strength decreases. This behavior is known as the reverse Hall–Petch effect (RHPE), which has also been observed in nanograined cubic boron nitride (cBN) and diamond. Surprisingly, however, hardness of nt-cBN and nt-diamond increases continuously with decreasing twin thickness down to several nanometers, suggesting the absence of RHPE in these covalent materials. The mechanism responsible for such a behavior remains controversial. Here we investigate the strengthening mechanisms in ng- and nt-diamond using molecular dynamics and first-principles calculations. For ng-diamond, the competition between shuffle-set dislocation (SSD) and grain boundary atom motions gives rise to RHPE. For nt-diamond, SSDs remain dominant but their slips along twin boundaries energetically show no advantage over those along other slip planes. Twin domains are locked and mechanically stable, resisting SSD propagation and inhibiting RHPE. These findings provide new insights into the hardening mechanism of nanotwinned covalent materials.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Compressive Mechanical Behavior of Nanocrystalline Fe

The uniaxial compressive mechanical properties of nanocrystalline Fe are simulated with a molecular dynamics technique and the analytical embedded-atom method. An asymmetrical mechanical phenomenon between tensile and compressive process is found, and the yield stress and flow stress in compression are higher than those in tension simulations. The compressive deformation process can be described as three characteristic regions: quasi-elastic deformation, plastic flowing deformation, and strain strengthening. During the plastic flowing deformation region, the material shows very good compressive ductibility. The plastic deformation is mainly dominated by the grain boundary atom slide.