Effect of temperature on the creep properties of polycrystalline Cu-Ni alloy: insight from molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

Abstract Creep is a phenomenon where a particular material tends to deform due to highly subjected parameters, such as temperature and pressure. This deformation is promoted by the diffusion of the material across the grain boundary, as critically assessed by Coble in 1963. This phenomenon is primarily crucial since the most critical application of materials is subjected to high temperature and pressure. This study intends to assess the effect of temperature of polycrystalline Cu-Ni alloy by utilizing molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation is run with different temperatures, thus allowing studying the critical differences between the applied parameters. The results show that the temperature affects the creep rate at every creep stage, primary and secondary, by a significant value. This is due to the deformation promoted by the diffusion of atoms across the grain boundary, decreasing the crystallinity of polycrystalline Cu-Ni alloy. Although the effect of temperature on the creep mechanism of polycrystalline Cu-Ni alloy seems straightforward, it is necessary to assess whether it increases the creep rate at a low temperature in further detail.