Evolution and microstructure of shear bands in nanostructured Fe

Shear band development in consolidated nanocrystalline and ultrafine-grained Fe has been monitored as a function of overall strain from the onset of plastic deformation. The deformation mechanisms of the grains inside the shear bands, the origin of the inhomogeneous deformation, and the propensity for shear localization in nanostructures are explained based on microstructural information acquired using transmission electron microscopy. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.