The strengthening of metals by a variety of means has been of interest over much of history. However, the elucidation of the actual mechanisms involved in the processes of alloying and work hardening, and the related processes of metals as a scientific pursuit, has become possible only through the parallel developments in dislocation theory and in definitive experimental tools of electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The important developments over the past several decades in the mechanistic understanding of the often complex processes of interaction of dislocations with each other, with solute atoms and with precipitates during plastic flow have largely remained scattered in the professional literature. This has made it difficult for students and professionals to have ready access to this subject as a whole. While there are some excellent reviews of certain aspects of the subject, there is presently no single comprehensive coverage available of the central mechanisms and
their modelling.

The present book on Strengthening Mechanisms in Crystal Plasticity provides such a coverage in a generally transparent and readily understandable form. It is intended as an advanced text for graduate students in materials science and mechanical engineering. The central processes of strengthening that are presented are modeled by dislocation mechanics in detail and the results are compared extensively with the best available experimental information. The form of the coverage is intended to inspire students or professional practitioners in the field to develop their own models of similar or related phenomena and, finally, engage in more advanced computational simulations, guided by the book.

About the Author:
Ali S. Argon
Quentin Berg Professor, Emeritus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Degrees:
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, (1952);
S.M., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (1953);
Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (1956).

Honors:
Charles Russ Richards Award of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) (1976);
Fellow of the American Physical Society (1987);
Member of the National Academy of Engineering (1989);
Nadai Medal of the ASME (1998);
Staudinger Duerer Medal of the ETH (Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule) of Zurich, Switzerland (1999);
Heyn Medal of the DGM (Deutche Gesellschaft fur Materialkunde), (2004);
D.Eng., (h.c); Purdue University, (2005).