Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C00809X/1
Title:	Towards Nanocrystalline Bulk Severely Deformed Alloys
Principal Investigator:	Prangnell, Professor P
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Materials
Organisation:	University of Manchester, The
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2005	Ends:	31 March 2008	Value (£):	196,175
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The term 'Nanocrystalline' is used to describe materials with grain sizes ~ 100 nm or less. Nanocrystalline metals have great potential for industrial applications in specialised areas, such as miniature components, components where very high strength is required without the possibility of using precipitation hardening, and applications that require a high degree of homogeneity on a fine length scale (e.g. medical implants and devices, data storage, microelectronic components, micro/nano-electro-mechanical devices etc). Severe deformation processing involves deforming metals to ultra high strains in order to refine their grain structure to a very fine scale. It offers unique advantages, in that; it is cheap, can be used to produce bulk material, and can process pure alloys, that are chemically homogenous, and contamination free. This technology has already been successfully used to produce submicron-grained alloys. This project is a pre-competitive study that aims to explore the basic science required to extend the severe deformation technique to produce true nanocrystalline structures (<100 nm) and understand and engineer their microstructures to improve their ductility and toughness. The principles that will be exploited include; controlling recovery, through lowering the homologous deformation temperature, maximising the level of refinement by minimising texture and increasing the efficiency of the process through changing the deformation mode, and encouraging twinning as an additional refinement mechanism. Research will also be conducted aimed at investigating improving the mechanical performance of nanocrystalline metals by designing composite structures comprised of nanocrystalline matrix grains toughened by dispersed, coarser, micron grained islands.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.man.ac.uk