Why do materials get stronger when they are deformed?

September 6, 2024 – The earliest blacksmiths in the Bronze and Iron Ages figured out that when they deformed metal through bending or hammering, it became stronger. This process, known as work or strain hardening, is still used widely in metallurgy and manufacturing today to increase the strength of everything from car frames to overhead power wires. But materials scientists have never been able to watch this essential process unfold in real time – until now.
In a paper published in Nature earlier this year, a team of scientists from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) observed, for the first time, the detailed mechanisms driving the fundamental process of work hardening. The research, conducted at the Harvard Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), provides a deeper understanding of material strength, which could have a wide-ranging impact on material design and manufacturing.

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