Solid solution strengthening

In metallurgy, solid solution strengthening is a type of alloying that can be used to improve the strength of a pure metal. The technique works by adding atoms of one element (the alloying element) to the crystalline lattice of another element (the base metal), forming a solid solution. The local nonuniformity in the lattice due to the alloying element makes plastic deformation more difficult by impeding dislocation motion through stress fields. In contrast, alloying beyond the solubility limit can form a second phase, leading to strengthening via other mechanisms (e.g. the precipitation of intermetallic compounds). Depending on the size of the alloying element, a substitutional solid solution or an interstitial solid solution can form. In both cases, atoms are visualised as rigid spheres where the overall crystal structure is essentially unchanged. The rationale of crystal geometry to atom solubility prediction is summarized in the Hume-Rothery rules and Pauling's rules. Substitutional solid solution strengthening occurs when the solute atom is large enough that it can replace solvent atoms in their lattice positions. Some alloying elements are only soluble in small amounts, whereas some solvent and solute pairs form a solution over the whole range of binary compositions. Generally, higher solubility is seen when solvent and solute atoms are similar in atomic size (15% according to the Hume-Rothery rules) and adopt the same crystal structure in their pure form. Examples of completely miscible binary systems are Cu-Ni and the Ag-Au face-centered cubic (FCC) binary systems, and the Mo-W body-centered cubic (BCC) binary system. Interstitial solid solutions form when the solute atom is small enough (radii up to 57% the radii of the parent atoms) to fit at interstitial sites between the solvent atoms. The atoms crowd into the interstitial sites, causing the bonds of the solvent atoms to compress and thus deform (this rationale can be explained with Pauling's rules). Elements commonly used to form interstitial solid solutions include H, Li, Na, N, C, and O.