Effects of solute size on solid-solution hardening in vanadium alloys: A first-principles calculation

We performed first-principles calculations to quantify the effect of 26 transition metals on the mechanical properties of vanadium (V) alloys. The generalized stacking-fault (GSF) energies of the solutes were evaluated in three slip systems. Solutes with similar atomic radii to that of V present high GSF energies, which increase the energy barrier for double-kink nucleation and result in excellent strengthening effect. This size effect indicates that noble metals can significantly improve the mechanical strength of V alloys.