The influence of mechanical stress on the growth and dissolution of crystals

A review is presented of the authors' recent work on the influence of mecha nical stress on the growth rate of materials. On the basis of the results, it is proposed that growth rate dispersion of secondary nuclei arises as a result of competition between stress reduction and dislocation enhancement of growth rates in the developing particles, with the former being the majo r influence at low particle sizes. The results are shown to account for the particle size and material dependence of the dispersion. Mechanistic studi es suggest that the principal mechanism of stress reduction in growth rate is the influence of the applied stress on the surface Free energy of the cr ystal. This effects both nucleation at the growth centre and the migration of growth steps across the crystal surface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.