Stresses at grain boundaries: The maximum incompatibility stress in an infinitely extended elastic bicrystal under uniaxial loading

In a material under stress, grain boundaries may give rise to stress discontinuities. Stress localization is crucial to materials' behavior such as segregation, precipitation, and void nucleation. Here, the stress state at a grain boundary perpendicular to a uniaxial external stress is studied systematically. The grain boundary with the most extreme stress discontinuity is determined for cubic materials within the elastic limit for a bicrystal model. Additionally, grain boundaries with negligible stress discontinuity are identified. The influence of the elastic tensor components, C11, C12, and C44, and grain orientation is studied quantitatively.
Team Marcel Sluiter