Which mechanism causes the brittleness in polycrystalline materials?

💡 Explanation

Grain boundary crack nucleation causes brittleness because boundaries act as stress concentration points, initiating cracks. Because grain separation occurs readily, crack readily propagates across rather than allowing plastic deformation or blunting.

• Which outcome weakens structural integrity when chloride ions permeate reinforced concrete foundations?
• Which outcome occurs when a high-energy photon strikes a silicon solar panel's valence band orbital?
• Which consequence results when the Thiele modulus exceeds unity in a catalyst pellet?
• Which phenomenon primarily dictates the increased drag coefficient of non-spherical airborne particles over spherical particles of equivalent volume?
• Which mechanism causes increased brittleness when grain boundaries segregate impurities in a metal alloy?
• Which outcome occurs when thin-film interference creates destructive interference on photodiode?