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The effect of size and composition on the strength and hardening of Cu–Ni/Nb nanoscale metallic composites

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Abstract

Nanoscale metallic material composites consisting of bilayer and trilayer systems of two and three different metallic alternating layers show significant gains in hardness over monolithic single phase films. One of the main applications of these composites can be as protective coatings to technical components to increase their lifespan acting as a mechanical barrier to the carriers of permanent deformation. In this work, we study the strength of bilayer structures made of alternating layers of niobium (Nb) and copper–nickel (Cu–Ni) alloys. The effect of the layer size and composition on strength and hardening as well as the effect of the metal–alloy interface on the dislocation motion is investigated. The simulations reveal a close relationship between the atomic composition of the alloy and the hardening of the film. The results are also compared with experimental findings on nanopillars made of similar structures, and strong similarities are revealed and discussed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI 1634772/1634640 and in part by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences under Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER46435. The authors acknowledge access, through an approved user project, to the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), a DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences user facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, 13699, USA

    Ioannis N. Mastorakos & Brian Kowalczyk

  2. Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Thun, CH-3602, Switzerland

    Rachel L. Schoeppner

  3. Department of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA

    David F. Bahr

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  1. Ioannis N. Mastorakos
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  2. Rachel L. Schoeppner
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  3. Brian Kowalczyk
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  4. David F. Bahr
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Correspondence to Ioannis N. Mastorakos.

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Mastorakos, I.N., Schoeppner, R.L., Kowalczyk, B. et al. The effect of size and composition on the strength and hardening of Cu–Ni/Nb nanoscale metallic composites. Journal of Materials Research 32, 2542–2550 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.213

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