The radiation damage tolerance of ultra-high strength nanolayered composites

• DOI: 10.1007/s11837-007-0120-6
• Publication Date: 2007-09-05T10:39:05Z
• Authors: A. Misra; M. J. Demkowicz; X. Zhang; R. G. Hoagland
• Keywords: 0205 materials engineering; 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

Interfaces act as obstacles to slip and sinks for radiation-induced defects. Hence, nanolayered composites that contain a large volume fraction of interfaces provide over an order of magnitude increase in strength and enhanced radiation damage tolerance compared to bulk materials. This paper shows the experimental and atomistic modeling results from a Cu-Nb nanolayered composite to highlight the roles of nanostructuring length scales and the response of interfaces to ion collision cascades in designing composite materials with high radiation damage tolerance.