A molecular dynamics study of polycrystalline fcc metals at the nanoscale: grain boundary structure and its influence on plastic deformation

Molecular dynamics computer simulation of nanocrystalline Ni and Cu show that grain boundaries in nanocrystalline metals have the short range structure of most grain boundaries found in conventional polycrystalline materials. The simulations also indicate the presence of a critical grain size below which all plastic deformation is accommodated in the grain boundary and no intra-grain deformation is observed.