Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-materials-science-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/paper-1/7/b/solution
Past exam of the materials science course of the University of Cambridge 2016 Paper 1 7 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Lower the operating temperature or stress, suppress diffusion, and remove or stabilize the paths that accommodate material creep. Increasing the melting temperature can reduce at a specified operating temperature. Chemistry that reduces diffusivity or impedes dislocation climb can reduce the material creep rate; stable precipitates or dispersoids can resist glide and climb, provided they do not dissolve or coarsen rapidly in service.
Large grains reduce both Nabarro-Herring and Coble creep, according to their and dependencies. Directional solidification can reduce boundaries normal to the dominant tensile stress, while a single crystal removes grain-boundary transport and sliding from the ordinary polycrystal mechanism inventory. It does not remove bulk diffusion or dislocation material creep.
This is why room-temperature grain-refinement strengthening is not automatically a high-temperature material creep strategy: fine grains create more boundary transport paths. Any protective microstructure must remain stable at the service temperature, and the design must also avoid stress concentrations and unwanted thermal loading.
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