2001/09/18 by J. Schiøtz
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
published as In "Science of Metastable and Nanocrystalline Alloys" edited by A.R. Dinesen et al., ISBN 87-550-2916-7, p. 127-139 (Risoe National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark, 2001) · Invited paper presented at the 22nd Risoe International Conference on Materials Science, September 2001
arxiv created 2001/09/18 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
In recent years it has become possible to study the properties of nanocrystalline metals through atomic-scale simulations of systems with realistic grain sizes. A brief overview of the main results is given, such as the observation of a reverse Hall-Petch effect - a softening of the metal when the grain size is reduced. The limitations of computer simulations are discussed, with a particular focus on the factors that may influence the reliability of this kind of simulations.