Nanotwinning-assisted dynamic recrystallization at high strains and strain rates

Grain refinement is a widely sought-after feature of many metal production processes and frequently involves a process of recrystallization. Some processing methods use very high strain rates and high strains to refine the grain structure into the nanocrystalline regime. However, grain refinement processes are not clear in these extreme conditions, which are hard to study systematically. Here, we access those extreme conditions of strain and strain rate using single copper microparticle impact events with a laser-induced particle impact tester. Using a combined dictionary-indexing electron backscatter diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy approach for postmortem characterization of impact sites, we systematically explore increasing strain levels and observe a recrystallization process that is facilitated by nanotwinning, which we term nanotwinning-assisted dynamic recrystallization. It achieves much finer grain sizes than established modes of recrystallization and therefore provides a pathway to the finest nanocrystalline grain sizes through extreme straining processes. Extreme mechanical deformation processes can lead to nanograins in many metals, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Nanotwinning-assisted dynamic recrystallization is shown to facilitate grain refinement to the nanoscale at high strains and strain rates.