Are twin boundaries resistant to fatigue cracking?

Grain boundaries are widely distributed in metallic crystals and have important impacts on their mechanical properties. Among them, high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) can strengthen metallic materials, but the stress concentration at HAGB often leads to fatigue damage and cracking. Given the particularity of the interaction between twin boundaries (TBs) and dislocations, it is worth clarifying whether TB resists fatigue cracking or not. Making progress on answering this question is Prof. Zhang Zhefeng’s research group from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Advanced microscopy may lead to improved computer memories

In a new study, researchers from Argonne National Laboratory have for the first time been able to look at a structural phase transition in minute detail on a very fast timescale. The scientists made a series of x-ray images that are spaced less than one-tenth of 1 billionth of a second apart using nanodiffraction microscopy. Scientists plan to use phase transitions to be able to control the electronic, structural or magnetic properties of different materials as they undergo these changes, such as for use in new types of computer memories.