An interface between crystalline regions with different orientations. Its structure affects transport, mechanical response and absorption of mobile point defects.
Resistance to plastic flow associated with grain boundaries obstructing or transmitting dislocations. In the ordinary Hall-Petch regime, smaller grains raise the yield stress, but at high temperature the same boundaries can accelerate diffusion creep.
The empirical scaling of yield stress with average grain size in its applicable regime. It is not a universal law for arbitrarily small grains or high-temperature deformation.
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Grain boundaries are imperfections or interfaces that occur between different crystallographic orientations of grains within a polycrystalline material. A grain is a single crystal within a larger aggregate, and when many such crystals (or grains) come together, their boundaries form the grain boundaries. Key characteristics and roles of grain boundaries include: 1. **Structure**: Grain boundaries can vary in structure and properties depending on the relative orientations of the adjacent grains.