Doing research on crystal structures and the effects of Ductile to Brittle transition at different temperatures. Results of this test proved aluminium to be a brittle structure, which I know to be wrong as it is known for being ductile. Aluminium is a face center cubic structure but I was interested to know whether all FCC structures hold ductility or can you get brittle FCC structures. I am aware of the way the atoms slide over each other in the arrangement.
1 Answer
I think that most all fcc metals remain ductile even at low temperatures. Neither aluminum nor copper, for example, become brittle at low temperature. As I understand, their ductility is due to the fact that there are many slip planes for the fcc structure and that the energy for dislocation movement is relatively small because it is a close-packed lattice.
The only exception I know is Iridium, an fcc metal which is brittle at room temperature.