Origins of limited non-basal plasticity in the {\mu}-phase at room temperature

TL;DR

This study reveals a novel non-basal slip mechanism in the {d}-phase at room temperature, combining experimental and simulation methods to understand plasticity without atomic diffusion.

Contribution

It introduces a new slip mechanism involving (1-105) planar faults that enable plastic deformation at low temperatures without atomic diffusion.

Findings

Dislocation glide forms (1-105) planar faults.

Faults do not disrupt Frank-Kasper packing.

Fault intersections cause stress concentration and crack nucleation.

Abstract

We unveil a new non-basal slip mechanism in the {\mu}-phase at room temperature using nanomechanical testing, transmission electron microscopy and atomistic simulation. The (1-105) planar faults with a displacement vector of 0.07[-5502] can be formed by dislocation glide. They do not disrupt the Frank-Kasper packing and therefore enable the accommodation of plastic strain at low temperatures without requiring atomic diffusion. The intersections between the (1-105) planar faults and basal slip result in stress concentration and crack nucleation during loading.