Mechanical response and modeling of fully compacted nanocrystalline iron and copper

A comprehensive study on the response of nanocrystalline iron and copper to quasi-static and dynamic loading is reported. Bulk solid nanocrystalline iron and copper specimens used in static and dynamic loading experiments were made by compaction and hot sintering of the nanocrystalline powders. The powders, with grain size 16–96 nm, were obtained by using high energy ball milling. The stress/strain response of dense nanocrystalline iron is found to be grain size and strain rate dependent. The KHL model is modified by incorporating Hall–Petch relation (i.e. yield stress dependence on grain size) and is used to represent the behavior of fully compacted nanocrystalline material. A good correlation with the experimental results is demonstrated.