Effects of twin and stacking faults on the deformation behaviors of Al nanowires under tension loading

The effects of twin spacing and temperature on the deformation behavior of nanotwinned Al under tensile loading are investigated using a molecular dynamic (MD) simulation method. The result shows that the yield strength of nanotwinned Al decreases with the increase of twin spacing, which is related to the repulsive force between twin boundary and the dislocation. The result also shows that there is no strain-hardening at the yield point. On the contrary, the stress is raised by strain hardening in the plastic stage. In addition, we also investigate the effects of stacking fault thickness and temperature on the yield strength of the Al nanowire. The simulation results indicate that the stacking fault may strengthen the Al nanowire when the thickness of the stacking fault is below a critical value.