A dimensionless criterion of dispersion for crystalline solids
Yu. V. Levinsky · Technical Physics Letters · 2003
A dimensionless criterion of dispersion for crystalline solids is proposed based on a comparison of the excess free energy in the compact and disperse state: D L =12σ/ Gb 2 pL , where σ is the surface energy, G is the shear modulus, b is the Burgers vector, p is the dislocation density, and L is the particle size. According to this, the critical size of particles corresponding to D L =1 is approximately the same ( L 1 =500 nm) for all metals. Classification of disperse crystalline solids with respect to the parameter D L is more justified thermodynamically than characterization by the particle size.