Grain Growth - Importance of Grain Growth

Importance of Grain Growth

Most materials exhibit the Hall–Petch effect at room-temperature and so display a higher yield stress when the grain size is reduced. At high temperatures the opposite is true since the open, disordered nature of grain boundaries means that vacancies can diffuse more rapidly down boundaries leading to more rapid Coble creep. Since boundaries are regions of high energy they make excellent sites for the nucleation of precipitates and other second-phases e.g. Mg–Si–Cu phases in some aluminium alloys or martensite platlets in steel. Depending on the second phase in question this may have positive or negative effects.

Read more about this topic:  Grain Growth

Famous quotes containing the words importance, grain and/or growth:

    “The moment Germany rises as a great power, France gains a new importance as a cultural power.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    “For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “Parents find many different ways to work their way through the assertiveness of their two-year-olds, but seeing that assertiveness as positive energy being directed toward growth as a competent individual may open up some new possibilities.”
    —Fred Rogers (20th century)