Creep behavior of nanocrystalline nickel at 290 and 373 K

The uniaxial tensile creep behavior of porosity-free nanocrystalline nickel with 30 nm grains produced by an electrodeposition processing has been investigated under constant and step-load conditions at room temperature and 373 K in a load range 500–1050 MPa. The experimental results showed that significant creep deformation occurred even at room temperature at an initial applied stress of 600 MPa or higher. The creep resistance was very sensitive to test temperature. The grain size and microstructure of the as received and post-creep specimens have been characterized by conventional TEM techniques. An attempt has been made to explain the deformation behavior and creep mechanisms based on current findings.