It was recalled that the linear splitting of disclinations in the grain-boundary phase of polycrystals and nano-crystals was an effective route for the relaxation of elastic energy. Such splitting was accompanied by a change in the grain-boundary structure, in that a stacking fault formed between the disclinations in the grain boundary. It also decreased the probability of micro-crack generation near to the grain boundary, and it stimulated grain boundary diffusion and the generation of dislocations.

M.J.Gutkin, K.N.Mikaelyan, I.A.Ovidko: Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 1995, 37[2], 552-4 (Physics of the Solid State, 1995, 37[2], 300-1)