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Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals
Published on: November 22, 2021
Roughness analysis of the cracked surfaces of a face centered cubic alloy
Stéphane Morel1, Thomas Lubet, Jean-Louis Pouchou
1Laboratoire de Rhéologie du Bois de Bordeaux, UMR 5103, CNRS/INRA/Université Bordeaux 1, 69 route d'Arcachon, 33612 Cestas Cedex, France. morel@lrbb.u-bordeaux.fr
Abstract:
Intergranular and transgranular fracture surfaces obtained in a face centered cubic alloy are studied using 3D maps reconstructed by scanning electron microscopy stereo imaging. The roughness exponents measured in the intergranular and transgranular surfaces, respectively, zeta = 0.83 +/- 0.05 and zeta = 0.75 +/- 0.05, are in agreement with the universal roughness value of 3D fractures. However, the slightly smaller value related to the transgranular surface could be a consequence of crystallographic transgranular zones disseminated on the surface whose roughness exponent zeta = 0.65 +/- 0.07 is close to the one usually measured on 2D fractures.
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