Tech Brief

Issue 019
November 5, 2021
Makers of High Tech Engineering Alloys

Page 1 of 3

Overview of Hardening Mechanisms

Wade A. Jensen, Ph.D.
Sr. Research Metallurgist

Hardness and strength are material properties that characterize the resistance of a material to plastic
(permanent) deformation. Plastic deformation in crystalline solids proceeds via the movement and
generation of line defects called “dislocations”, which are missing atom rows that facilitate “gliding” of
atoms along slip planes, Figure 1. The missing atom row will move through a grain as long as it is
energetically permissible to do so, usually at a critical level of mechanical stress or sufficiently high
temperature. Impeding the motion of dislocations is the key to producing hard, strong engineering alloys.
Accomplishing this with precious metal alloys is non-trivial and Deringer-Ney employs its metallurgical
expertise to engineer microstructures for optimal properties. Several hardening mechanisms are exploited
to accomplish this:

Figure 1: Dislocation movement through a crystal lattice, with the dislocation “gliding” one atom row at a time along a
crystallographic slip plane. The “⊥” symbol denotes the dislocation with the missing atom row extending into the crystal.

Alloy Hardening: This is the mechanism by which Pt-10wt% Ir or Neyoro™

28 (Au-25wt% Ag) is hardened. When solute atoms are in solid solution, the
mismatch in atomic radii between solute and matrix distorts the crystal lattice
and creates compressive or tensile strain fields, Figure 2. These fields
interact with, and neutralize, strain created by dislocations, thus impeding
their movement. The introduction of even small amounts of solute can
improve hardness. An alternative name for this mechanism is “solid solution
strengthening.”
Figure 2: Compressive and tensile
Order Hardening: An ordered material occurs when specific elements forces created by atom radii mismatch.
occupy designated and periodic crystal lattice sites. As dislocations
move through ordered material, Figure 3, the periodic arrangement of atoms is disrupted and higher
energy bonds, known as antiphase boundaries (APB), are formed. This energy penalty slows dislocation
propagation, and the newly created APB hinders future dislocation movement. Paliney 25® forms such an
ordered system. The crystalline periodicity lends itself to good electrical conductivity while maintaining
hardness and ductility.¹,²

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353 Woodland Avenue 155 Derringer Drive Parque Industrial de Nogales
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 Page 2 of 3
Makers of High Tech Engineering Alloys

Overview of Hardening Mechanisms

Continued from Page 1

Figure 3: Dislocation moving through an ordered phase and the formation of an antiphase boundary in the dislocation’s wake.

Interface hardening: Deringer-Ney materials have been engineered to take

advantage of fine microstructures, whether it be through grain refining or
processing procedures. Interface hardening is a combination of the effects
caused by grain boundaries in single-phase material, and interphase
boundaries in two-phase material. There is an inherent discontinuity in the slip
planes between grains or phases, which means that the dislocation needs
considerable energy to change its direction, Figure 4. The general trend is for
hardness to increase with decreasing grain size (higher interfacial density for a
given material volume), which is known as the Hall-Petch relation.³
Figure 4: Dislocation movement
impeded at the grain boundary;
Precipitation Hardening: Super-saturated solid caused by the change in slip plane
solutions aged at low temperatures will sometimes directions.
precipitate fine secondary phase particles. These
reinforcing particles act as pinning sites for dislocation movement, thus
strengthening the matrix material. When the particle is too hard for the
dislocation to “cut,” the edges of the dislocation are pinned, and the
dislocation will bow around the particles. The dislocation will eventually
bypass precipitates by encircling them and forming a dislocation loop. This is
known as the Orowan mechanism, and is represented in Figure 5. Numerous
Figure 5: Precipitates impeding other mechanisms exist for various precipitates,
dislocation propagation by the but those will not be discussed here.
formation of Orowan loops.

Spinodal Hardening: Paliney® 7 has been observed to spinodally

decompose, when given the proper aging treatment.⁴ Spinodal
decomposition is distinct from precipitation and interfacial hardening. The
spinodal decomposition engenders fine phases that are chemically distinct,
but have coherent interphase interfaces. The fine, mismatched lattices distort
one another, creating expansive strain fields that attract and impede
dislocation propagation, as seen in Figure 6. This is similar, although on a
Figure 6: Compressive and tensile
much larger scale, to the strains caused by alloy hardening and coherent strain caused by a coherent interface
particles. in a spinodal microstructure.

Connecticut, USA North Carolina, USA Nogales, Mexico

www.DeringerNey.com
353 Woodland Avenue 155 Derringer Drive Parque Industrial de Nogales
Bloomfield, CT 06002 Marshall, NC 28753 Nogales, Sonora, Mexico 1-860-286-6101
 Page 3 of 3
Makers of High Tech Engineering Alloys

Overview of Hardening Mechanisms

Continued from Page 2

Work Hardening: It is well known that metal systems become harder with increasing cold work. This is
due to the introduction of dislocations, created via material deformation, and the fact that dislocation strain
fields interact and hinder each other’s movement. In other words, plastic deformation reduces the ability to
undergo further plastic deformation, Figure 7. This build-up of dislocations can be “reset” by annealing at
intermediate temperatures, and is often required after rolling or drawing to make the metal processable
again. Materials such as Neyoro 28A, 28B, and 69 exclusively exploit cold working gained from mechanical
processing to reach their optimum hardnesses.

Undeformed Grain 20% Reduction 56% Reduction

Figure 7: The introduction of dislocations into a grain by cold work; dislocation density increases with deformation.

References:
1. A.Y. Volkov, O.S. Novikova, B.D. Antonov, Formation of an Ordered Structure in the Cu–49 at % Pd
Alloy, Inorganic Materials. 49 (2013) 43–48. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168512110167.
2. A.S. Klein, E.F. Smith, S. Viswanathan, Palladium-Based Alloys, 10,385,424 B2, 2019.
3. W. Callister, Mechanisms of Strengthening in Metals, in: Materials Science and Engineering An
Introduction, 7th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2006: pp. 188–206.
4. D.F. Susan, Z. Ghanbari, P.G. Kotula, J.R. Michael, M.A. Rodriguez, Characterization of Continuous
and Discontinuous Precipitation Phases in Pd-Rich Precious Metal Alloys, Metallurgical and Materials
Transactions A. (2014) 12.

Connecticut, USA North Carolina, USA Nogales, Mexico

www.DeringerNey.com
353 Woodland Avenue 155 Derringer Drive Parque Industrial de Nogales
Bloomfield, CT 06002 Marshall, NC 28753 Nogales, Sonora, Mexico 1-860-286-6101