Size-dependent yield strength is a common feature observed in miniaturized crystalline metallic samples, and plenty of studies have been conducted in experiments and numerical simulations to explore the underlying mechanism. However, the transition in yield strength from bulklike to size-affected behavior has received less attention. Here a unified theoretical model is proposed to probe the yield strength of crystalline metallic materials with sample size from nanoscale to macroscale. We show that the transition in yield strength versus size can be fully explained by the competition between the stresses required for dislocation source activation and dislocation motion, which is regulated by dislocation density, irradiation defect, grain boundary, and so on. Based on various grain boundary densities, the extended Hall–Petch relation, incorporated into the unified model, captures the reverse size effect for polycrystalline samples. The proposed model predictions agree well with reported experimental measurements of various specimens, including the prestrained nickel, irradiated copper, ultrafine grain tungsten, and so on.

• Received 4 January 2020
• Revised 14 May 2020
• Accepted 18 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.235501