Grain size effect on monotonic and cyclic deformation responses of electroformed copper with ultrafine and nano sized twins

Refining of grain sizes is one of the most powerful tools for achieving enhanced properties and performance in polycrystalline metallic materials. It has been found that, by reducing the grain size to ultrafine and nano ranges, the strength of the materials can be significantly enhanced. However, interpretation of the influence of the grain size on the mechanical behaviour of this kind of materials is still in its infancy. Especially, as the grain size falls in these regions, conventional dislocation model is subjected to contradictory experimental results. A wide spread of the applications of these materials is hindered due to the lack of validated models.; To develop the present understanding, a novel energy approach is attempted, in which deformation process was treated as an energetic process. This energy approach is experimentally tested and theoretically investigated.; The experimental investigation includes mechanical response characterization and microstructure investigation. It was found that, with decreasing grain size, the static deformation mechanism appears to transform from lower hardening stage to higher stage. Similarly, the cyclic deformation mode also exhibits corresponding characteristics shifting. Such transitions are attributed to the material's internal energy increases with the decrease of the grain size, leading to the following conclusions: (1) A novel view on cyclic hardening, cyclic softening and cyclic creep in relation to the strain energy of the material is synthesized, based on which a microstructure evolution law is derived. (2) Quantitative grading of grain size is enabled for the first time. According to the presented grading method, the size of the ultrafine grain is equal to the critical grain size at which the energetic transition condition from Stage III hardening to Stage IV hardening is satisfied. (3) An original interpretation of the physical meaning for Hall-Petch constant is provided. The Hall-Petch slope constant is found to be proportional to grain boundary surface energy. Hence, as the grain boundary type of materials is changed to low energy boundaries, a decrease in the constant could be predicted.