Abstract
The intrinsically ductile metal, which is brought in contact with certain liquid metals, exhibits brittle fracture at low tensile stress. This phenomenon is known as a liquid metal embrittlement (LME). Many theories have been suggested to explain this ductile-to-brittle transition in the presence of liquid metals (see [1] for the review), however, none of them is proven to be universal. Indeed, the fracture mechanics by itself is a complex subject and the basic mechanisms behind brittle vs. ductile behavior are still far from being understood [2]. Introduction of the liquid metal further complicates the originally complex situation, and this is the reason why LME is until now a subject of high controversy [1].
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Rabkin, E. (2000). Grain Boundary Embrittlement by Liquid Metals. In: Lépinoux, J., Mazière, D., Pontikis, V., Saada, G. (eds) Multiscale Phenomena in Plasticity: From Experiments to Phenomenology, Modelling and Materials Engineering. NATO Science Series, vol 367. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4048-5_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4048-5_31
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