Improved fatigue resistance of gradient nanograined metallic materials: Suppress strain localization and damage accumulation

Compared to conventional metals with homogeneous microstructures, heterogeneously structured materials with spatially gradient nanostructures exhibit superior mechanical properties, especially enhanced fatigue resistance under cyclic loading by suppressing the strain localization and damage accumulation. In this paper, the basic features of fatigue properties, cyclic deformation, and damage mechanism of gradient nanostructured metallic materials are reviewed. The challenges and prospects on exploring fatigue resistance of gradient nanostructured materials in the future are also addressed.