Applied stress controls the production of nano-twins in coarse-grained metals

We present evidence that the level of the applied stress plays a critical role in deformation twinning in face-centred cubic alloys. While conventional cold rolling of a face-centred cubic structure produces a microstructure with a high-density of extended dislocations, increasing the applied stress using high-pressure torsion gives a nano-twinned coarse-grained structure. This suggests the existence of a critical stress for deformation twinning which thereby delineates an approach for the production of nano-twinned microstructures in coarse-grained materials with superior mechanical properties. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4769216]