New ways to obtain bulk nanostructured materials

Advanced options for fabricating massive nanocrystalline materials in bulk quantities might be based on combining different non-equilibrium processing routes sequentially. So far, the wide spectrum of possible processing pathways and the corresponding opportunities for microstructure control on a nanometer scale remain widely unexplored. The current paper presents recent results on the evolution of nanoscaled microstructures resulting from different plastic deformation treatments that are combined with an initial vitrification process based on rapid melt quenching. Experimental results from calorimetry and microstructure analysis by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy are discussed with respect to the underlying mechanisms that govern the observed evolution of extremely high nanocrystal number densities.