In-situ TEM Dynamic Observation and Multi-scale Dissipation Mechanisms of Damage Evolution at Crack Tips in Hard Domains of Heterostructured Al-Cu Alloys

In-situ TEM Dynamic Observation and Multi-scale Dissipation Mechanisms of Damage Evolution at Crack Tips in Hard Domains of Heterostructured Al-Cu Alloys | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article In-situ TEM Dynamic Observation and Multi-scale Dissipation Mechanisms of Damage Evolution at Crack Tips in Hard Domains of Heterostructured Al-Cu Alloys Chuanchuan Ma, Tuo Li, Duo Zhang, Yuxiang Zhao, Feng Wang, Yafei Teng, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9242904/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The damage initiation and propagation mechanisms within the "hard domains" of heterostructured Al-Cu alloys under load are crucial for their service performance. This study employed in-situ TEM tensile testing to dynamically observe crack propagation behavior within these hard domains at the atomic scale. It was found that inside the hard domains, the crack tip continuously emits dislocations. These dislocations interact with grain boundaries and second-phase particles, establishing a dynamic "emission-pile-up-annihilation" equilibrium. This process is identified as the core micro-mechanism for stress relaxation and crack-tip blunting. Notably, within the hard domains, which typically possess high SFE, the extreme local stress/strain gradients at the crack tip drive the anomalous dynamic nucleation and annihilation of stacking faults. This unconventional deformation mode directly releases the stress singularity and can induce crack deflection by generating localized shear strain. Furthermore, this in-situ study captured the critical moment of nano-void coalescence for the first time. These results indicate that the hard domains are not merely zones of brittle fracture. Instead, they achieve effective toughening dissipation through coordinated micro-nano mechanisms. Meanwhile, this research has deepened the understanding of the damage tolerance and the intrinsic strengthening-toughening synergy in heterostructured materials. In-situ TEM Heterostructured Al-Cu Alloys Hard Domains Crack Propagation Amorphization Transition Stacking Fault Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementalVideo1.gif SupplementalVideo2.gif SupplementalVideo3.gif SupplementalVideo4.gif Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9242904","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":619655428,"identity":"81552f89-c1a2-4e60-a047-018195990d08","order_by":0,"name":"Chuanchuan Ma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Taiyuan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chuanchuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Ma","suffix":""},{"id":619655429,"identity":"d92ace64-7dfe-418b-96c5-871f385221b8","order_by":1,"name":"Tuo Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Taiyuan University of Science and 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