Abstract
We have measured the yield strengths of Ni samples having high densities of nanometer-size precipitates. Surface layers containing NiO or γ-Al2O3 precipitates were formed in Ni specimens by ion implanting O alone or O and Al, with subsequent annealing. The yield strengths of the layers were obtained through nanoindentation in conjunction with finite-element simulations. The yield strengths of the Ni alloys were combined with earlier data for O-implanted Al and compared to predictions of a recent treatment of the Orowan mechanism, in which dislocations loop around precipitates and by-pass them. The strengths vary with changes in precipitate microstructure, as predicted, and conform to the theory in absolute magnitude to within a factor of 1.5. This agreement extends over broad microstructural ranges: precipitate sizes from ∼1 to 20 nm, volume fractions from 0.05 to 0.30, densities from 4×1016/cm3 to as high as ∼1020/cm3, edge-to-edge spacings as small as 1.4 nm, two precipitated phases, and two metal matrices with shear moduli differing by a factor of 3. Ion implantation increases near-surface yield strengths to as high as 5 GPa, suggesting that this treatment may be useful for hardening the surfaces of Ni components in micro-electromechanical systems.
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Follstaedt, D.M., Knapp, J.A. & Myers, S.M. Strengthening by high densities of nanometer-size precipitates: Oxides in Ni. Metall Mater Trans A 34, 935–949 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-003-0224-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-003-0224-8