Due to their high content in nanocrystalline materials, the grain boundarie
s are expected to contribute significantly to the elastic and anelastic pro
perties of the bulk material. Thus nanocrystalline materials lend themselve
s to the study of grain boundary contributions to absorption and dispersion
of ultrasonic waves. We have examined nanocrystalline Pd and Cu. They exhi
bit an anomalously large absorption which varies linearly with frequency. (
C)1999 Acta Metallurgica Inc.