Strengthening Mechanisms
There are several ways in which crystalline and amorphous materials can be engineered to increase their yield strength. By altering dislocation density, impurity levels, grain size (in crystalline materials), the yield strength of the material can be fine tuned. This occurs typically by introducing defects such as impurities dislocations in the material. To move this defect (plastically deforming or yielding the material), a larger stress must be applied. This thus causes a higher yield stress in the material. While many material properties depend only on the composition of the bulk material, yield strength is extremely sensitive to the materials processing as well for this reason.
These mechanisms for crystalline materials include
- Work Hardening
- Solid Solution Strengthening
- Particle/Precipitate Strengthening
- Grain boundary strengthening
Read more about this topic: Yield (engineering), Factors Influencing Yield Stress