INTERFACIAL ENERGY AND COMPOSITION IN METALS AND ALLOYS

Abstract

The energy associated with interfaces such as free surfaces and grain boundaries in metals and alloys is of great importance to current metallurgical practice, most particularly because it is believed to be a controlling factor in the ever-present problem of brittleness. Recent research has emphasized the very strong influence that impurities can exert upon the interfacial energy, and thus upon brittle behaviour. The value of an increased knowledge of interfacial energies and their dependence upon composition is therefore evident, and methods for measuring these quantities deserve close attention.