Play all audios:
ABSTRACT In simple crystalline materials, plastic deformation mostly takes place by the movement of dislocations. Although the underlying mechanisms in these materials are well explored, in
complex metallic alloys—crystalline solids containing up to thousands of atoms per unit cell—the defects and deformation mechanisms remain essentially unknown. Owing to the large lattice
parameters of these materials, extended dislocation concepts are required. We investigated a typical complex metallic alloy with 156 atoms per unit cell using atomic-resolution
aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. We found a highly complex deformation mechanism, based on the movement of a dislocation core mediating strain and separate escort
defects. On deformation, the escort defects move along with the dislocation core and locally transform the material structure for the latter. This mechanism implies the coordinated movement
of hundreds of atoms per elementary glide step, and nevertheless can be described by simple rearrangement of basic structural subunits. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This
is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $259.00
per year only $21.58 per issue Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on SpringerLink * Instant access to full article PDF Buy now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated
during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS OBSERVING
FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF DISLOCATION CELLS DURING PLASTIC DEFORMATION Article Open access 13 March 2025 GEOMETRY OF PLASTIC DEFORMATION IN METALS AS PIECEWISE ISOMETRIC TRANSFORMATIONS
Article Open access 18 August 2024 ANOMALOUS ENTROPY-DRIVEN KINETICS OF DISLOCATION NUCLEATION Article Open access 21 January 2025 REFERENCES * Hirth, J. P. & Lothe, J. Theory of
dislocations. (McGraw-Hill Series in Materials Science and Engineering, McGraw-Hill, 1968). * Kronberg, M. L. Plastic deformation of single crystals of sapphire—basal slip and twinning.
_Acta Metall._ 5, 507–524 (1957). Article CAS Google Scholar * Allen, C. W. & Liao, K. C. Dislocation models for shear transformation. _Phys. Status Solidi A_ 74, 673–681 (1982).
Article CAS Google Scholar * Hazzledine, P. M. & Pirouz, P. Synchroshear transformations in Laves phases. _Scripta. Met._ 28, 1277–1282 (1993). Article CAS Google Scholar *
Chisholm, M. F., Kumar, S. & Hazzledine, P. Dislocations in complex materials. _Science_ 307, 701–703 (2005). Article CAS Google Scholar * Urban, K. & Feuerbacher, M. Structurally
complex alloy phases. _J. Non-Cryst. Sol._ 334, 143–150 (2004). Article Google Scholar * Andersson, M., Feuerbacher, M. & Rapp, Ö. Magnetoresistance and Hall effect of the complex
metal alloy Mg2Al3 . _Phys. Rev. B_ 78, 024201 (2008). Article Google Scholar * Bauer, E. et al. Superconductivity in the complex metallic alloy beta-Al3Mg2 . _Phys. Rev. B_ 76, 014528
(2007). Article Google Scholar * Jeglic, P. et al. NMR evidence for Co–Al–Co molecular groups trapped in cages of Co4Al13 . _J. Alloys Compd._ 480, 141–143 (2009). Article CAS Google
Scholar * Dolinsek, J. et al. Broken ergodicity, memory effect and rejuvenation in Taylor-phase and decagonal Al3(Mn,Pd,Fe) complex intermetallics. _Phys. Rev. B_ 77, 064430 (2008). Article
Google Scholar * Roitsch, S., Heggen, M., Lipinska-Chwalek, M. & Feuerbacher, M. Single-crystal plasticity of the complex metallic alloy phase beta-Al–Mg. _Intermetallics_ 15, 833–837
(2007). Article CAS Google Scholar * Klein, H., Feuerbacher, M., Schall, P. & Urban, K. Novel type of dislocation in an Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystal approximant. _Phys. Rev. Lett._ 82,
3468–3471 (1999). Article CAS Google Scholar * Feuerbacher, M. & Heggen, M. On the concept of metadislocations in complex metallic alloys. _Phil. Mag._ 86, 935–944 (2006). Article
CAS Google Scholar * Taylor, M. A. Space group of MnAl3 . _Acta Crystallogr._ 14, 84 (1961). Article Google Scholar * Hiraga, K., Kaneko, M., Matsuo, Y. & Hashimoto, S. The structure
of Al3Mn—close relationship to decagonal quasi-crystals. _Phil. Mag. B_ 67, 193–205 (1993). Article CAS Google Scholar * Klein, H. et al. The T–Al3(Mn,Pd) quasicrystalline approximant:
Chemical order and phason defects. _Phil. Mag. Lett._ 75, 197–208 (1997). Article CAS Google Scholar * Nellist, P. D. & Pennycook, S. J. The principles and interpretation of annular
dark-field atomic _Z_-contrast imaging. _Adv. Imaging Electron Phys._ 113, 147–203 (2000). Article Google Scholar * Robinson, K. The determination of the crystal structure of Ni4Mn11Al60 .
_Acta Crystallogr._ 7, 494–497 (1954). Article CAS Google Scholar * Shi, N. C., Li, X. Z., Ma, Z. S. & Kuo, K. H. Crystalline phases related to a decagonal quasi-crystal. _Acta
Crystallogr. B_ 50, 22–30 (1994). Article Google Scholar * Balanetskyy, S., Meisterernst, G., Heggen, M. & Feuerbacher, M. Reinvestigation of the Al–Mn–Pd alloy system in the vicinity
of the T- and R-phases. _Intermetallics_ 16, 71–87 (2008). Article CAS Google Scholar * Cottrell, H. _Dislocations and Plastic Flow in Crystals_ (Clarendon Press, 1953). Google Scholar *
Hemker, K. J., Mills, M. J. & Nix, W. D. An investigation of the mechanisms that control intermediate temperature creep of Ni3Al. _Acta Metall. Mater._ 39, 1901–1913 (1991). Article
CAS Google Scholar * Beraha, L., Duneau, M., Klein, H. & Audier, M. Phason defects in Al–Pd–Mn approximant phases: Another example. _Phil. Mag. A_ 78, 345–372 (1998). Article CAS
Google Scholar * Heggen, M. & Feuerbacher, M. Metadislocation arrangements in the complex metallic alloy _ξ_′-Al–Pd–Mn. _Phil. Mag._ 86, 985–990 (2006). Article CAS Google Scholar *
Porter, D. A. & Easterling, K. E. _Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys_ (Chapman & Hall, 1992). Book Google Scholar * Feuerbacher, M., Balanetskyy, S. & Heggen, M. Novel
metadislocation variants in orthorhombic Al–Pd–Fe. _Acta Mater._ 56, 1852–1859 (2008). Article Google Scholar * Klein, H. & Feuerbacher, M. Structure of dislocations and stacking
faults in the complex intermetallic _ξ_′-Al–Pd–Mn. _Phil. Mag._ 83, 4103–4122 (2003). Article CAS Google Scholar * Roitsch, S., Heggen, M. & Feuerbacher, M. Plastic deformation
properties of the complex metallic alloy phase _μ_-Al–Mn. _Intermetallics_ (in the press). * Roitsch, S. Microstructural and macroscopic aspects of the plasticity of complex metallic alloys.
Thesis, RWTH-Aachen, full text at <http://hdl.handle.net/2128/3229> (2008). * Heggen, M., Houben, L. & Feuerbacher, M. Metadislocations in the orthorhombic structurally
complex alloy Al13Co4 . _Phil. Mag._ 88, 2333–2338 (2008). Article CAS Google Scholar * Heggen, M., Deng, D. & Feuerbacher, M. Plastic deformation properties of the orthorhombic
complex metallic alloy phase Al13Co4 . _Intermetallics_ 15, 1425–1431 (2007). Article CAS Google Scholar Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank C. Thomas and M. Schmidt for
producing the materials and J. Barthel for carrying out the HAADF-STEM image simulation. This work was supported by the 6th Framework EU Network of Excellence ‘Complex Metallic Alloys’
(Contract No. NMP3-CT-2005-500140) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, (PAK 36). AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Institut für Festkörperforschung, Forschungszentrum Jülich
GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany M. Heggen, L. Houben & M. Feuerbacher Authors * M. Heggen View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * L. Houben
View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * M. Feuerbacher View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
CONTRIBUTIONS M.H. and M.F. contributed equally to the design of the experiment, the conduction of the deformation tests and the preparation of the manuscript. The microstructural
investigations were carried out by L.H. and M.H. and the micrographs were analysed by M.H. M.F. developed the sample material and supervised the work. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to
M. Heggen. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary Information (PDF
891 kb) RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Heggen, M., Houben, L. & Feuerbacher, M. Plastic-deformation mechanism in complex solids.
_Nature Mater_ 9, 332–336 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2713 Download citation * Received: 18 September 2009 * Accepted: 27 January 2010 * Published: 28 February 2010 * Issue Date:
April 2010 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2713 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link
is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative