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Updated: May 30, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals
Published on: November 22, 2021
Prediction of the mechanical behaviour of crystalline solids
Mohammad Hossain Shariare1, Frank J J Leusen, Marcel de Matas
1Institute of Life Sciences Research, University of Bradford, Bradford, W. Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK.
Purpose:
To explore the use of crystal inter-planar d-spacings and slip-plane interaction energies for predicting and characterising mechanical properties of crystalline solids.
Methods:
Potential relationships were evaluated between mechanical properties and inter-planar d-spacing, inter-planar interaction energy, and dispersive surface energy as determined using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) for a set of pharmaceutical materials. Inter-planar interaction energies were determined by molecular modelling.
Results:
General trends were observed between mechanical properties and the largest inter-planar d-spacing, inter-planar interaction energies, and IGC dispersive surface energy. A number of materials showed significant deviations from general trends. Weak correlations and outliers were rationalised.
Conclusions:
Results suggest that the highest d-spacing of a material could serve as a first-order indicator for ranking mechanical behaviour of pharmaceutical powders, but with some reservation. Inter-planar interaction energy normalised for surface area shows only a weak link with mechanical properties and does not appear to capture essential physics of deformation. A novel framework linking mechanical properties of crystals to the distinct quantities, slip-plane energy barrier and inter-planar interaction (detachment) energy is proposed.
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