The theory of the work-hardening curve of a pure single crystal is discussed. An outline is given of the experimental methods available for the study of the mechanism of plastic deformation and work hardening. An attempt is made to correlate existing theories of work hardening. The theory is illustrated by discussions of copper, of other face-centred cubic metals, of the diamond and sphalerite structures, of hexagonal close-packed metals, of ionic face-centred cubic crystals and of body-centred cubic metals.

The plasticity of pure single crystals

Refining a metal’s grain size can result in dramatic increases in strength, and the magnitude of this strengthening increment can be estimated using the Hall–Petch equation. Since the Hall–Petch equation was proposed, there have been many experimental studies supporting its applicability to pure metals, intermetallics and multi-phase alloys. In this article, we gather the grain-size strengthening data from the Hall–Petch studies on pure metals and use this aggregated data to calculate best estimates of these metals’ Hall–Petch parameters. We also use this aggregated data to re-evaluate the various models developed to physically support the Hall–Petch scaling.

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Six decades of the Hall–Petch effect – a survey of grain-size strengthening studies on pure metals

A model for yielding with special reference to the yield-point phenomena of iron and related bcc metals

H. Conrad

Papers

Activation energy for deformation of metals at low temperatures

On the rate-controlling mechanism for plastic flow of Mg crystals at low temperatures

Cottrell locking and the flow stress in iron

An investigation of the rate controlling mechanism for plastic flow of copper crystals at 90° and 170°K