To learn the elasto-plastic constitutive response of metals from experiments with heterogeneous mechanical fields, we developed a finite element-coupled backpropagation algorithm that trains neural network-based plasticity models using force-displacement curves from notched tension and central-hole tension specimens. This approach enables training deep into the post-necking regime, well beyond the strain ranges accessible to standard uniaxial tests. Building on this framework, a neural network-based distortional hardening model is proposed in which a single network simultaneously predicts the flow resistance, anisotropic yield parameters, and yield function exponent of the YLD2000-3D yield locus as functions of equivalent plastic strain. This unified formulation enables continuous transition of the yield locus between sharp-cornered shapes and smooth shapes with high flexibility during deformation. The model is first pre-trained using uniaxial tension stress-strain data, after which the finite element-coupled training substantially improves predictions at large deformations. Ti-6Al-4V exhibits strong plastic anisotropy together with an unusual reversal in the orientation ranking of force-displacement responses between notched and central-hole tension specimens. The investigated third-generation advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) exhibits a hardening response that transitions from convex to concave curvature. For both materials, the proposed model accurately reproduces the large-deformation and post-necking behavior of all training experiments and successfully predicts unseen validation experiment results, including local strains and the evolution of Lankford coefficients. The proposed framework is computationally stable, efficient, and readily implementable in commercial finite element software. Moreover, the methodology is general and can be extended to arbitrary phenomenological yield functions and experimental training configurations.
Metastable ferrous medium/high-entropy alloys (MEAs/HEAs) suffer from a strength-ductility trade-off, especially at cryogenic temperatures. To address this, the study tailored dislocation substructures in a Fe49.8Mn30Co10Cr10C0.2 MEA via warm rolling (WR) at 600°C with reductions of 30%, 50% and 70% (designated as WR30, WR50 and WR70). Experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that WR induced a strain-dependent evolution: incidental dislocation boundaries (IDBs) formed via Lomer-Cottrell-like reactions of Shockley partial dislocations, which transitioned to dense IDB/low-angle grain boundary (LAGB) mixtures with increasing deformation. The ε-phase fraction changed as 25.6% (WR30) → 33.8% (WR50) → 24.1% (WR70), with WR70 exhibiting a bimodal morphology. Although the enhancement of tensile properties at room temperature (RT) was limited with increasing WR reduction, both strength and ductility improved simultaneously and significantly at liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT): WR30 showed inferior performance (yield strength YS ∼482 MPa, ultimate tensile strength UTS ∼1300 MPa, low total elongation TEL, ∼25%) due to sparse IDBs and early transformation saturation of single-orientation coarse ε-phases, leading to severe strain concentration. WR50 represented an intermediate state, with a moderate strength-ductility combination and the emergence of ε-laths along two distinct orientations. Notably, WR70 exhibited an exceptional combination of YS (∼640 MPa), UTS (∼2000 MPa), strain hardening rate (SHR, ∼5 GPa) and TEL (∼60%)—outperforming most reported Fe-based MEAs/HEAs. This synergy originates from: (1) IDB/LAGB-mediated forest hardening; (2) sustained transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) via continuous and abundant nucleation of three-directional ε-laths; (3) strain dispersion by the three-dimensional network of ε-laths. This work highlights the role of dislocation engineering in designing high-performance cryogenic structural alloys.
In this work, a physically motivated extended analytical model is established by combining both the elastic and chemical contributions to elucidate the temperature-dependent mechanism of solid solution strengthening over a wide temperature range in face-centered cubic (FCC) medium- and high-entropy alloys (MEAs/HEAs), and to address the restricted accuracy of existing analytical models at cryogenic temperatures. The main innovation of the proposed model lies in the incorporation of chemical interaction (associated with local fluctuation in stacking fault energy) into the thermally activated dislocation-glide framework, in addition to the conventional elastic interaction arising from atomic size and modulus mismatch. In this way, both the elastic and chemical contributions can be well characterized within a unified analytical framework. For the analysis of chemical contribution, the statistical description of stacking fault energy mismatch coefficient is revised for multi-principal-element random solid solutions. This treatment enables the chemical strengthening effect to be directly correlated with the evolution of stacking fault energy, while the correction factor accounts for the localized nature of chemical interactions within the stacking-fault/core region. Meanwhile, the Peierls–Nabarro (P-N) model is combined with a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to achieve a refined characterization of the dislocation core structure. These improvements allow the model to more accurately calculate the dislocation–solute interaction energy and the thermal activation barrier for dislocation motion. The proposed model is validated by comparing with the experimental data of single-crystalline Cantor-family MEAs/HEAs over the temperature range from 4.2 K to 298 K. The results show that the model can well reproduce the pronounced increase of critical resolved shear stress with decreasing temperature. Further analysis reveals that the strengthening mechanisms induced by elastic size mismatch and stacking fault energy variation exhibit an obvious difference from the aspect of physical origin and temperature response. This work could help elucidate the solid-solution strengthening mechanism by incorporating both the elastic and chemical contribution in FCC MEAs/HEAs, and provide theoretical guidance for the strengthening and toughening design of compositionally complex alloys.
Titanium alloys face a persistent strength–hardening trade-off: alloys exhibiting substantial work hardening (>2 GPa) typically yield below 800 MPa, whereas alloys with yield strengths above 1 GPa commonly show limited hardening (<2 GPa). Here, we demonstrate that this dilemma can be overcome in a dual-phase α′/α titanium alloy by activating sequential reorientation-to-twinning plasticity in metastable α′ martensite. In the Ti-6Al-7Nb-20Zr alloy containing 17 vol.% metastable HCP α′ martensite, a peak work hardening rate of approximately 8 GPa and a large work hardening ability of 384 MPa were achieved together with a high yield strength of 1063 MPa, placing it among the top-performing titanium alloys in terms of strength–hardening synergy. Strain dependent microstructure analyses suggested that the initial multivariant α′ martensite first underwent stress-induced variant reorientation, producing reoriented near-single-variant α′ domains. These domains then continue to accommodate plasticity through post-reorientation {101¯1} twinning, twin/dislocation co-deformation, and secondary twinning within primary twins. The twinning-related stages were associated with a major hardening contribution beyond the initial reorientation stage. Meanwhile, the continuous αp served as the primary load-bearing constituent, while the different behaviors of deformation between αp and α′ promotes interfacial dislocation accumulation and back-stress strengthening. First-principles calculations supported the metastability of α′ and its propensity for reorientation-to-twinning plasticity. These results identify reorientation-to-twinning plasticity as a novel mechanism for achieving gigapascal-level yield strength together with sustained work hardening in α′/α titanium alloys.
With the growing demand for single-crystal and semiconductor materials, the design and control of defect-free single crystals have become a central focus in both research and industrial development. In this context, an established nonlocal dislocation-density-based crystal plasticity (CP) framework is extended and parameterized to simulate the evolution of dislocations in single-crystal sapphire during crystal growth and cooling. The model incorporates both mobile and dipole dislocation densities and accounts for their spatial transport, enabling an accurate description of dislocation generation, motion, and redistribution under large thermal gradients. The CP model is implemented within a thermo-mechanically coupled finite-element framework and validated against experimental measurements obtained from etched sapphire wafers. The simulations reproduce the measured dislocation-density trends and predict the formation of the characteristic dislocation pattern associated with the anisotropy of slip systems in sapphire. Using the validated model, optimized process parameters and furnace configurations are derived. The results show that a properly designed heating configuration combined with the derived growth and cooling rates can produce sapphire crystals with significantly reduced dislocation densities, minimal wafer deflection, and no cracking. The resulting nonlocal CP model thus provides a physically consistent and computationally efficient design tool for optimizing manufacturing processes in sapphire and other single-crystal semiconductors.
The present work is devoted to numerical modeling of fracture initiation and propagation in saturated porous rocks. The emphasis is put on hydromechanical coupling and gravitational stress gradient effect. Compared with previous studies, several novel features are introduced. Based on the formulation of total potential energy and free poroelastic energy, the poroelastic relations of damaged porous media are established and the driving force of fracture propagation is identified. The effect of pore fluid pressure on fracturing is explored in greater depth by incorporating both effective stress and fluid enthalpy. Inspired by experimental results, the interaction between energy dissipation related to viscous fluid flow and fracture evolution is further investigated. Considering the strong pressure-dependency of mechanical behavior of rocks, the evolution of both tensile and shear fractures is influenced by compressive effective stresses. In order to better describe mixed fracturing in rocks under compression-dominating stresses, a hybrid phase-field model is proposed by considering two distinct driving forces respectively for tensile and shear fractures and their interaction is taken into account. Implemented in a finite element framework for fully coupled hydromechanical problems incorporating gravitational fluid flow and stress gradient, a wide series of representative cases are investigated. The proposed model is able to capture all main features involved in hydromechanical fracturing process. In particular, the kinetics of fracturing is influenced by fluid enthalpy contribution and pressure gradient. The proposed model is applied to investigate fracturing processes in laboratory tests under hypergravity conditions. The mechanistic mechanisms of hypergravity effect on fracturing pattern are elucidated.
Creep void evolution is a key damage process in high-temperature alloys, because void growth, shape change, and coalescence promote damage localization and thereby accelerate the transition to tertiary creep and eventual rupture. Existing studies based on single-void unit cells have clarified the effects of stress state, crystallographic orientation, and void geometry on creep void evolution, but have paid little attention to how void behavior is changed by the underlying creep deformation mechanism itself, especially dislocation climb. Here, this issue is addressed using a finite-strain crystal-plasticity finite-element framework with crystallographic slip and dislocation climb. A three-dimensional periodic single-crystal unit cell containing a pre-existing intragranular spherical void is analyzed under multiaxial loading, and a climb-enabled constitutive description calibrated for the high-temperature IN617 alloy is systematically compared with a matched slip-only reference over prescribed stress-triaxiality and Lode-parameter combinations and crystallographic orientations. Within the adopted periodic single-void unit-cell and constitutive framework, the results show that admitting climb produces a distinct creep-void response rather than merely accelerating the overall deformation. In particular, climb strengthens the net tendency toward void growth, causes the coalescence criterion to be reached over a wider stress-state range within the early Eeq≤1 observation window, weakens collapse at low triaxiality, and makes stress triaxiality a more dominant control of the global cell-averaged creep response while reducing that response’s sensitivity to the Lode parameter and crystallographic orientation. These trends are interpreted in terms of two model-internal features of climb: an admissible non-zero plastic volumetric contribution and an explicit hydrostatic-stress contribution to the microscopic driving force. Overall, the study reveals a distinct micromechanical pathway for creep void evolution when climb becomes active and provides a basis for future analyses based on single-void unit cells and creep-damage models that account for mechanism-dependent void evolution.
Accurate prediction of stress–strain responses in geomaterials remains challenging due to nonlinearity, path-dependency, and the lack of a unified treatment for non-associated plastic flow. This paper proposes a thermodynamically admissible constitutive framework that integrates a unified yield surface, fractional-order flow rules, and data-driven state-dependent parameter evolution. Unlike empirical plastic potential functions, the yield function is derived from a generalized dissipation potential in dissipative stress space, strictly satisfying the second law of thermodynamics. A fractional-order derivative of the yield function determines the non-associated plastic flow direction in real stress space, eliminating arbitrary assumptions. To address the non-convexity of fractional power-law operators and their numerical sensitivity, a Softplus-based smooth mapping is introduced. A hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Machine Learning (ML) workflow overcomes the limitation of static parameters. PSO calibrates fractional-order parameters by minimizing both flow-direction deviation and parameter jumps, generating a physically consistent training dataset. Gaussian Process Regression or ensemble tree models then learn a nonlinear mapping from state variables (P0, H, Wp) to these parameters, enabling real-time adaptive updates during fully implicit Euler stress integration. The framework is validated against drained triaxial tests on calcareous sand, Hangzhou clay, and gravelly soil, accurately reproducing deviatoric stress–strain curves and volumetric responses, including the contraction-to-dilation transition. Extrapolation to untrained confining pressures and undrained conditions further demonstrates robustness. This work provides a rigorous, data-enhanced pathway for unified constitutive modeling that maintains thermodynamic integrity while capturing complex state-dependent plasticity.
A remarkable room-temperature precipitation strengthening method is proposed in this work, which significantly enhances the strength of conventionally un-heat-treatable Al-2.5Mg-0.4Fe sheet. It is found that the combination of severe plastic deformation and cyclic loading triggers the precipitation of abundant ultrafine-grained Al₁₃Fe₄ phases ranging from 100 to 1000 nm at room temperature. With increasing strain of 0.8 and loading cycles of 2000, the Al-2.5Mg-0.4Fe alloy exhibits excellent tensile strength of 480 MPa, far exceeding that by conventional strengthening method. It is indicated that both grain refinement strengthening and precipitation strengthening become more pronounced as plastic strain and cyclic loading increase, dominating the mechanical enhancement. Despite high stacking fault (SF) energy of aluminum alloy, cyclic severe plastic deformation (CSPD) introduces numerous SFs by grain nanocrystallization and Fe atom segregation. Molecular dynamics analysis reveals that the presence of Fe solute atoms significantly promotes the structural transformation under cyclic shear strain. Moreover, the enhanced precipitation strengthening effect through twin refinement is investigated during CSPD, in which the twinned precipitates not only act as strong dislocation barriers to dislocation motion, but also as plasticity carriers to coordinate matrix deformation. This study presents a simple but effective room-temperature strengthening strategy for non-heat-treatable alloys.
Non-proportional multiaxial cyclic deformation tests are conducted at different temperatures to elucidate the temperature-dependent multiaxial ratchetting of a cast AZ91 magnesium (Mg) alloy. The experimental observation demonstrates that the alloy exhibits a pronounced additional non-proportional softening at all tested temperatures, with stronger path dependence at elevated temperatures; asymmetric hysteresis loops and a characteristic zigzag evolution pattern of ratchetting strain occur under a non-equal-frequency loading condition (i.e., the axial and torsional loading frequencies are not equal) due to the cycle-by-cycle variations of principal stress and plastic strain paths. Based on these observed features, two prediction models, namely a semi-empirical model and a machine-learning surrogate model, are developed for a rapid prediction of ratchetting strain evolution. Both prediction models generally capture the main evolution features of temperature- and path-dependent ratchetting strain. These findings advance the mechanistic understanding of multiaxial ratchetting and support the design and safety assessment of Mg alloy components.
Complicated dislocation configurations generated in supersaturated solid solutions of laser-based additively manufactured (AM) alloys are motivated by the competition between intrinsic factors, including stacking fault energy (SFE) and lattice frication stress (LFS). However, the synergistic effects of SFE and LFS, which control the dislocation arrays and slip mode, accordingly govern the mechanical response of AM single-phase face-centered cubic (FCC) alloys, remain unclear. In this work, we systematically investigate the roles of SFE and LFS in dictating mechanical properties by examining dislocation configuration evolution in model materials of single-phase AlxCoCrFeNi (x = 0 ∼ 0.3) high entropy alloys (HEAs) produced by a conventional laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) approach. Through tuning the Al content of these alloys, the SFE and LFS values can be modified to gain different dislocation configurations in the FCC-structured matrix. Microstructural characterization, along with quantitative analysis via atomic simulation, reveals that reduced SFE combined with elevated LFS yields a pronounced transition of dislocation configuration from cell structures toward planar-slip arrays. This markedly tunes the dislocation-mediated behaviors upon deformation, and accordingly enhances the strength-ductility synergy, i.e., the yield strength increases from 485 MPa (x=0) to 729 MPa (x=0.3) while maintaining a large uniform elongation (25%). High-cycle fatigue analysis further demonstrated that reduced SFE promotes planar dislocation arrays, increases dislocation density, and facilitates deformation twinning and stacking faulting during cyclic loading, thereby amplifying the dynamic Hall-Petch effect and inhibiting crack initiation and growth. Notably, localized dynamic recrystallization occurs near cracks in the low-SFE model alloy, reducing dislocation density and dissipating accumulated fatigue-induced stress. This study reveals the origins of dislocation configuration determined by the competition between SFE and LFS, and demonstrates the dislocation-mediated mechanisms controlled by this competition, which improves the strength-ductility synergy and fatigue resistance of AM-produced alloys, thereby shedding light on the design of high-performance structural materials.
The local plastic response of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) is strongly influenced by prior-β grain morphology, the hierarchical α/β microstructure, crystallographic texture, and local deformation constraints. Here, AlCoCrFeNi2.1 assisted multi-element in-situ alloying was employed during laser-directed energy deposition to regulate the microstructure and mechanical response of TC4. Among the investigated compositions, TC4–5 % exhibits the most favorable strength–ductility balance, with a pronounced columnar-to-equiaxed transition, reduction of the average prior-β minor-axis length from approximately 314 μm to 78 μm, α-lath refinement, modified α/β phase constitution, and nanoscale α2-Ti3Al precipitation. The alloy achieves a yield strength of 1180.4 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 1239.1 MPa, and an elongation of 11.3%. In-situ EBSD reveals progressive lattice rotation, increasing low-angle boundary fraction, and the development of local orientation gradients during tensile deformation. At high strain, high-KAM regions become increasingly concentrated near prior-β boundaries and triple junctions. Slip-trace analysis indicates local participation of basal, prismatic, and pyramidal candidate systems in representative regions, including local pyramidal participation, while post-deformation TEM reveals dislocation activity in both α and β regions and local deformation interactions near α/β interfaces. Semi-quantitative strengthening analysis indicates that the high yield strength arises from the combined contributions of α-lath refinement, multi-element solid-solution strengthening, dislocation strengthening, and a supplementary contribution from nanoscale α₂ precipitation. These results establish a multiscale experimental correlation between alloying induced microstructural regulation, local deformation heterogeneity, and damage localization in the optimized alloy.
Tempering of carbide free bainitic (CFB) steel generally causes a reduction in the strength. However, an unexpected enhancement in the tensile properties, specifically both strength and elongation, was observed during high-temperature testing of a medium-carbon CFB steel. Remarkably, this improvement occurred only under a specific tempering condition (300 °C), significantly below the corresponding bainite start temperature (Bs) although the test was performed over a temperature range (100-500 °C). A detailed and systematic investigation using in-situ high temperature, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) revealed the presence of exceptionally fine (∼13 nm in diameter) and coherent ε-carbide precipitates, contrary to conventional understanding. More intriguing was the formation of even finer precipitates (4-6 nm) following tensile deformation at the elevated temperature. These coherent, nano-sized precipitates significantly reduced the dislocation mean free path, leading to an improved work hardening behavior and enhanced ductility at 300 °C with a tensile strength of ∼1370 MPa and ∼38% total elongation, highest amongst all the high temperature (100-500 °C) tested samples. Thermodynamic and kinetic analyses were carried out in detail to understand the static as well as dynamic evolution of precipitates at different tempering temperatures and the ensuing effect on strain hardening behavior of the CFB steel. Precipitation kinetics simulations revealed substantial coarsening of the precipitates above the threshold temperature of 300 °C, which is manifested in terms of reduction in strength as well as work hardening ability.
In this work, an advanced extension of the classical Gurson-type porous plasticity framework is presented to capture the impact compressive failure of additively manufactured (AM) metals and lattice architectures. The proposed model introduces a stress-state-dependent secondary void evolution mechanism that governs shear- and compression-dominated failure regimes, which have traditionally been challenging to describe within classical porous plasticity models. By integrating the Johnson–Cook hardening rule with Hill’s anisotropic Benzerga–Besson porous plasticity potential, the model naturally accounts for strain-rate sensitivity and material anisotropy during the failure process. To extend the predictive capabilities of porous plasticity, a novel unified stress-state function is developed. This function preserves the accuracy of the original Gurson-type model under high stress triaxiality while effectively preventing unphysical predictions at ultra-low and negative triaxiality levels. For numerical implementation, a robust staggered “squared-flow” integration algorithm is formulated to ensure high convergence stability within the VUMAT subroutine. The model is thoroughly validated through a combined experimental–numerical study involving high-strain-rate tests. Results demonstrate that the framework accurately reproduces both the macroscopic mechanical response and localized failure features, such as the stress–strain response and the shear banding crack, from solid upsetting bars to complex lattice architectures.
Multicaloric effect refers to a thermal response of materials driven by more than one external field. Recent experimental results showed that the directionally solidified polycrystalline NiMnGaIn ferromagnetic shape memory alloy (FSMA) exhibited a pronounced multicaloric effect under a combined mechanical and magnetic loading. A large cooling temperature of 6.7 K was achieved in such an alloy when simultaneously applying a moderate dual-external field (uniaxial stress of 95 MPa and magnetic field of 2 T), which is much higher than the maximum temperature drop in the elastocaloric cooling induced by a purely mechanical loading. To understand and quantitatively describe this new phenomenon, in this paper, a multiscale thermo-magneto-mechanically coupled model is developed. Firstly, a three-dimensional multi-field coupled constitutive model is constructed at the grain scale within an irreversible thermodynamic framework. The model considers various inelastic deformation and magnetization mechanisms, including martensitic transformation, martensitic reorientation, magnetic domain wall motion, and magnetization vector rotation. The internal heat production originating from transformation latent heat, intrinsic energy dissipation, thermoelastic effect, as well as magnetic entropy change are incorporated. By constructing the Helmholtz free energy and employing the Clausius-Duhem inequality, thermodynamic driving forces of these inelastic deformation and magnetization mechanisms are derived, and thermodynamically-consistent evolution equations for the internal variables are proposed. Based on the law of energy conservation, the temperature evolution equation during the deformation and magnetization processes is derived. Then, to achieve the scale transition from grain level to polycrystalline level, a thermo-magneto-mechanically coupled self-consistent homogenization method is developed. The capability of the proposed model is verified by comparing the predicted results with the experimental data. It is found that all the deformation, magnetization and thermal responses are well captured by the proposed model. Moreover, the influences of the microstructures (crystallographic orientation, grain morphology, and texture strength) on the multicaloric effect are discussed.
This study investigated the effect of hydrides on the low-cycle fatigue crack initiation mechanism in an α titanium alloy (Ti-2Al-2.5Zr) under room-temperature loading conditions using a combined quasi-in-situ testing and crystal plasticity simulation approach. The hydrogen concentration was approximately 600 ppm, corresponding to a hydride volume fraction of 1.84%. High-resolution digital image correlation technology was employed to quantitatively characterize the full-field strain distribution of the hydrides and α-Ti matrix at the mesoscale, demonstrating the limited plastic deformability of hydrides. Fatigue tests were conducted on both non-hydrogenated and hydrogenated material, indicating that hydrides have a detrimental effect on fatigue life. The crack nucleation and evolution processes were tracked, and the subsurface morphologies of the hydride-induced cracks were characterized. The results reveal a novel hydride-induced crack initiation mechanism, in which hydrides promote extrusion damage at the phase boundary on the free surface, ultimately leading to cracking of the matrix. The hydride-induced cracking grains are clustered in the region with a basal or prismatic Schmid factor greater than 0.4. Crack initiation was promoted when a small angle existed between the phase boundary and the slip trace. Additionally, a fatigue indicator parameter representative of the underlying crack initiation mechanism was proposed, and the crack initiation sites were successfully predicted by means of crystal plasticity finite element method.
Stacking fault energies and critical resolved shear stresses (CRSSs) of different slip systems are predicted as a function of chemical composition for Mg solid solutions by accounting for chemical disorder, using the exact muffin-tin orbitals method involving coherent potential approximation and the semi-discrete variational Peierls–Nabarro model. A correlation between the stability of local atomic structure and stacking fault energies is established to understand the mechanisms behind the varied influences of alloying species. While addition of Ni, Co, Ti, and Ag (Sn, Ca, and Y) are demonstrated to significantly increase (decrease) the unstable stacking fault energy (γus) of prismatic and pyramidal 〈a〉 slip, Al, Li, and Zn yield relatively small influence. In addition, Sn, Ca, and Li decrease significantly both the intrinsic stacking fault energy (γisf) and γus of pyramidal 〈c+a〉 slip. The varied influences of alloying species on stacking fault energies of prismatic/pyramidal 〈a〉 and pyramidal 〈c+a〉 slip are demonstrated to strongly correlate with the local structural stability of the body-centered orthorhombic and triclinic structure, respectively. The counterbalance between the influence of volume change and chemical composition on the local structural stability dominates the alloying effect on γisf and γus. Furthermore, the predicted dislocation core structure and CRSSs of both basal and non-basal slips based on the calculated stacking fault energies and elastic parameters are in line with the available experimental findings. Among the studied alloying species, addition of Ca, Li, Sn, and Y are found to significantly reduce the difference of CRSS between basal and non-basal slips of Mg alloys. The present advances provide a solid basis for understanding the atomic mechanisms of plastic deformation and intelligent design of high-performance Mg alloys.
