Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Grain boundary (GB) solute segregation has long been associated with premature failure of engineering materials. Local changes in composition at the GBs can result in such phenomena as intergranular corrosion, temper embrittlement, intergranular fracture and fatigue as well as changes in electrical properties. The relationship between GB structure and solute segregation is not well understood.