Young’s modulus in nanostructured metals

Abstract The interface effect on Young’s modulus was investigated in electro-deposited fully-dense Ni –P alloys with a relatively constant phosphorus content (2– 3 wt%), but with different grain sizes ranging from 4 to 29 nm. Essentially the same Young’s modulus was observed for grain sizes ≥ 18 nm. A noticeable decrease in Young’s modulus was found at grain sizes ≤ 17 nm. The reduction in Young’s modulus was found to correlate well with the increase in all interface contributions. These observations agree with various studies on other fully-dense metals for grain sizes between 5 and 80 nm. Previously reported large decreases in the Young’s modulus were likely caused by the significant amount of porosity in the microstructure.