Grain Size and Mechanical Properties Fundamentals and Applications Symposium Held November 27-December 2, 1994, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A

It has been several decades since the pioneering work of Professors Norman Petch and Eric Hall in discovering a functional relationship between the grain size of polycrystalline iron and its yield strength or cleavage properties. The focus then was on conventionally produced metallic materials and alloys. In the intervening years, however, there have been major extensions of this work to include such materials as ceramics, composites, and organic and inorganic polymers -- and the results have shown that grain-size effects on mechanical properties may be regarded as a basic phenomenon inherent in any granular solid. This interdisciplinary volume offers a concise and thorough review of recent major advances made while investigating both the theoretical and experimental bases for the Hall-Petch relationship and the applicability of this formalism to all classes of granular solids, regardless of their composition or processing history. As the contents reveal, the Hall-Petch relationship appears toassume a universal concept with implications far beyond the earlier predictions by its founders. Future efforts -- not only to extend the applicability of the Hall-Petch relationship to every class of solid, but also to determine at what limit of the grain size the concept will not be an effective tool -- are also discussed.Grant, N. J. is the author of 'Grain Size and Mechanical Properties Fundamentals and Applications Symposium Held November 27-December 2, 1994, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A' with ISBN 9781558992634 and ISBN 1558992634.