Low-temperature plasticity in nanocrystalline titanium and copper

The stress-strain compressive curves, temperature dependences of the yield stress, and small-inelastic-strain rate spectra of coarse-grained and ultrafine-grained (produced by equal-channel angular pressing) titanium and copper are compared in the temperature range 4.2–300 K. As the temperature decreases, copper undergoes mainly strain hardening and titanium undergoes thermal hardening. The temperature dependences of the yield stress of titanium and copper have specific features which correlate with the behavior of their small-inelastic-strain rate spectra. Under the same loading conditions, the rate of microplastic deformation of ultrafine-grained titanium is lower than that of coarse-grained titanium and the rate peaks shift toward high temperatures. The deformation activation volumes of titanium samples differing in terms of their grain size are (10–35)b ³, where b is the Burgers vector magnitude. The dependences of the yield stress on the grain size at various temperatures are satisfactorily described by the Hall-Petch relation.     

Roles of grain boundary and dislocations at different deformation stages of nanocrystalline copper under tension

The plastic deformation of nanocrystalline copper subjected to tension has been studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that, in the initial stage, the deformation is mainly boundary-mediated in small grains; while in the late stage, the deformation is accommodated by dislocations in large grains. It is also found that the stress-assisted grain growth occurs owing to atomic diffusion and grain boundary migration. These results are consistent with recent experimental observations.     

Effect of stress state on deformation and fracture of nanocrystalline copper:Molecular dynamics simulation

Deformation in a microcomponent is often constrained by surrounding joined material making the component under mixed loading and multiple stress states. In this study, molecular dynamics(MD) simulation are conducted to probe the effect of stress states on the deformation and fracture of nanocrystalline Cu. Tensile strain is applied on a Cu single crystal,bicrystal and polycrystal respectively, under two different tension boundary conditions. Simulations are first conducted on the bicrystal and polycrystal models without lattice imperfection. The results reveal that, compared with the performance of simulation models under free boundary condition, the transverse stress caused by the constrained boundary condition leads to a much higher tensile stress and can severely limit the plastic deformation, which in return promotes cleavage fracture in the model. Simulations are then performed on Cu single crystal and polycrystal with an initial crack. Under constrained boundary condition, the crack tip propagates rapidly in the single crystal in a cleavage manner while the crack becomes blunting and extends along the grain boundaries in the polycrystal. Under free boundary condition, massive dislocation activities dominate the deformation mechanisms and the crack plays a little role in both single crystals and polycrystals.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of deformation and fracture of graphene under uniaxial tension

The paper reports on molecular dynamics simulation of deformation and fracture of graphene under uniaxial tension. Dependences of Young’s modulus, critical force and fracture strain on the strain rate, temperature and angle between the tension direction and the graphene lattice are derived. The effect of defects on fracture of graphene is studied.     

单晶铜纳米线屈服机理的原子模拟研究

采用分子静力学方法模拟了〈100〉单晶铜纳米线的拉伸变形过程,研究了纳米线屈服的机理. 结果表明：1） 纳米线初始屈服通过部分位错随机激活的{111}〈112〉孪生实现,后继屈服通过{111}〈112〉部分位错滑移实现;2） 纳米线变形初期不同滑移面上的部分位错在两面交线处相遇形成压杆位错,变形后期部分位错在刚性边界处塞积,两者都阻碍位错滑移,引起一定的强化作用. 关键词： 纳米线 屈服 位错 分子静力学     

纳米多晶铜微观结构的分子动力学模拟

基于EAM镶嵌原子势函数,采用分子动力学模拟了零温下纳米多晶铜的微观结构.首先用Voronoi几何方法构造了5个纳米多晶铜数值模型,在300K弛豫50ps并退火至0K.然后分析零温下弛豫模型的径向分布函数、原子能量、配位数、原子Voronoi体积、以及本征应力分布 关键词： 纳米多晶铜 微观结构 分子动力学     

Anisotropic plasticity of nanocrystalline Ti:A molecular dynamics simulation

Using molecular dynamics simulations,the plastic deformation behavior of nanocrytalline Ti has been investigated under tension and compression normal to the{0001},{1010},and{1210}planes.The results indicate that the plastic deformation strongly depends on crystal orientation and loading directions.Under tension normal to basal plane,the deformation mechanism is mainly the grain reorientation and the subsequent deformation twinning.Under compression,the transformation of hexagonal-close packed(HCP)-Ti to face-centered cubic(FCC)-Ti dominates the deformation.When loading is normal to the prismatic planes(both{1010}and{1210}),the deformation mechanism is primarily the phase transformation among HCP,body-centered cubic(BCC),and FCC structures,regardless of loading mode.The orientation relations(OR)of{0001}HCP||{111}FCC and<1210>HCP||<110>FCC,and{1010}HCP||{110}FCC and<0001>HCP||<010>FCC between the HCP and FCC phases have been observed in the present work.For the transformation of HCP→BCC→HCP,the OR is{0001}α1||{110}β||{1010}α2(HCP phase before the critical strain is defined as α1-Ti,BCC phase is defined as β-Ti,and the HCP phase after the critical strain is defined as α2-Ti).Energy evolution during the various loading processes further shows the plastic anisotropy of nanocrystalline Ti is determined by the stacking order of the atoms.The results in the present work will promote the in-depth study of the plastic deformation mechanism of HCP materials.     

First-principles calculation and molecular dynamics simulation of fracture behavior of VN layers under uniaxial tension

We develop the second nearest-neighbor modified embedded atom method (2NN MEAM) potential for vanadium nitride (VN) in terms of the individual vanadium and nitrogen. The potential parameters are determined by fitting the cohesive energy, lattice parameter, and elastic constants of the VN with the NaCl-type structure, which are obtained by first-principles calculations. We find that the developed potentials can be used to describe the fundamental physical properties of the V–N system with other lattice structures. The calculated tensile stress–strain curves of the VN layers by first principles agree with those obtained by molecular dynamic simulations, validating the use of the developed potential. The bond breaking and its growth and coalescence are found to play an important role in the formation of fracture. We also find that temperature influences markedly the breaking of bonds, which can be attributed to the deviation of atoms from their equilibrium positions due to the thermal activated vibration, or to the superposition of the thermal energy to the deformation energy. Moreover, no dislocations and slips are found throughout the deformation process.     

强激光辐照下纳米铜动态拉伸型断裂的数值模拟

基于强激光辐照加载下纳米铜的层裂实验,采用含逾渗软化函数的损伤度函数模型对实验结果进行了数值模拟研究。强激光加载条件被简化为高斯分布脉冲压力施加在镍合金基体的前表面上。数值计算结果显示：损伤演化明显地改变了试样中波传播特性,无论是对微损伤还是完全层裂的试样,计算都较好地再现了实测自由面速度剖面,表明了含逾渗软化函数的损伤度函数模型在强激光加载条件下纳米铜层裂问题分析中具有较好适用性。     

Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline copper under thermal load

The material properties of nanocrystallines are known to generally have a strong dependence on their nanoscale morphology, such as the grain size. The Hall-Petch effect states that the mechanical strength of nanocrystalline materials can vary substantially for a wide range of grain sizes; this is attributed to the competition between intergranular and intragranular deformations. We employed classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the morphology-dependent mechanical properties of nanocrystalline copper. The degradation of material properties under thermal load was investigated during fast strain rate deformation, particularly for the grain size. Our simulation results showed that the thermal load on the nanocrystalline materials alters the grain-size behavior of the mechanical properties.     

Atomistic mechanisms of fatigue in nanocrystalline metals

We investigate the mechanisms of fatigue behavior in nanocrystalline metals at the atomic scale using empirical force laws and molecular level simulations. A combination of molecular statics and molecular dynamics was used to deal with the time scale limitations of molecular dynamics. We show that the main atomistic mechanism of fatigue crack propagation in these materials is the formation of nanovoids ahead of the main crack. The results obtained for crack advance as a function of stress intensity amplitude are consistent with experimental studies and a Paris law exponent of about 2.     

冲击波在纳米金属铜中传播的分子动力学模拟

使用分子动力学方法模拟了冲击波在纳米金属铜中的传播,模拟样品由Voronoi方法得到.结果显示纳米金属铜在冲击加载下呈现多次屈服的现象,并发现冲击波具有多波结构.由于设计样品时选择了晶粒取向,晶界滑移和位错在冲击波波形上被区分开.冲击波波阵面由弹性变形区、晶界滑移主导的塑性变形区和位错主导的塑性变形区组成.样品中弹性波前沿扰动较小,而位错主导的塑性波前沿扰动较大,造成后者的主要原因是波阵面上沿冲击方向不同取向晶粒的不同屈服行为.     

Incipient plasticity and voids nucleation of nanocrystalline gold nanofilms using molecular dynamics simulation

In this study, the incipient plasticity and voids nucleation of nanocrystalline gold were investigated using a molecular dynamics simulation. The effects of mean grain size and temperature were evaluated in terms of the material's stress-strain diagram, Young's modulus, yield strength, common-neighbor analysis, slip vectors, and deformation behaviors. From the stress-strain diagram, at 300?K, the maximum stress value corresponding to a grain size of 3.2?nm was much lower and the stress curve was clearly different from those corresponding to other grain sizes. Young's modulus increased with increasing mean grain size. The inverse Hall–Petch relation was observed. The slip was the main deformation behavior at a mean grain size of 3.2?nm. Moreover, the internal stress was more pronounced with increasing temperature. At 700?K, the main deformation area range was concentrated in the lattice at the middle of the samples, resulting in an almost force–induced structural transformation phenomenon in the middle. Void damage occurred at the junction of three–grain boundaries during the tensile process. With decreasing mean grain size, the less internal differential slip was generated under the same temperature and strain conditions.     

Atomistic level studies on the tensile behavior of GaN nanotubes under uniaxial tension

Molecular dynamics method with the Stillinger-Weber (SW) potential has been employed to study the responses of GaN nanotubes (GaNNTs) to a uniaxial tensile load along the axial direction. It has been revealed that GaNNTs exhibits a completely different tensile behavior at different temperatures, i.e. ductility at higher deformation temperatures and brittleness at lower temperatures, leading to a brittle to ductile transition (BDT). Both the BDT temperature and the critical stress increases with increasing thickness of GaNNTs, and the critical stress at higher temperature are lower than those at lower temperature. These results on the tensile behaviors of GaNNTs in an atomic level will provide a good reference to its promising applications.     

动态压缩下马氏体相变力学性质的微观研究

使用分子动力学方法,模拟了活塞以恒定加速运动从一端压缩单晶铁（沿［001］晶向）发生马氏体相变的微观过程.根据模拟结果将上述压缩过程分为弹性压缩、晶格软化、相变（bcc至hcp）、超应力松弛和高压相弹性压缩五个阶段,对各阶段的原子滑移规律和应力变化特征做了详细分析.分析得出应力超过约10 GPa时,开始出现弹性常数软化行为;层错结构（fcc）和孪晶界为新相形核的两种缺陷,前者更为稳定;相变后粒子首先进入超应力松弛状态（即沿加载方向的偏应力呈现负值）,在应力超过约36 GPa粒子转变为高压相弹性压缩状态. 关键词： 分子动力学 单晶铁 相变 动态压缩     

Atomistic simulation of the stacking fault energy and grain shape on strain hardening behaviours of FCC nanocrystalline metals

ABSTRACT

Ultra-fine grained copper with nanotwins is found to be both strong and ductile. It is expected that nanocrystalline metals with lamella grains will have strain hardening behaviour. The main unsolved issues on strain hardening behaviour of nanocrystalline metals include the effect of stacking fault energy, grain shape, temperature, strain rate, second phase particles, alloy elements, etc. Strain hardening makes strong nanocrystalline metals ductile. The stacking fault energy effects on the strain hardening behaviour are studied by molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the uniaxial tensile deformation of the layer-grained and equiaxed models for metallic materials at 300?K. The results show that the strain hardening is observed during the plastic deformation of the layer-grained models, while strain softening is found in the equiaxed models. The strain hardening index values of the layer-grained models decrease with the decrease of stacking fault energy, which is attributed to the distinct stacking fault width and dislocation density. Forest dislocations are observed in the layer-grained models due to the high dislocation density. The formation of sessile dislocations, such as Lomer–Cottrell dislocation locks and stair-rod dislocations, causes the strain hardening behaviour. The dislocation density in layer-grained models is higher than that in the equiaxed models. Grain morphology affects dislocation density by influencing the dislocation motion distance in grain interior.     

Simulation of plasticity in nanocrystalline silicon

Molecular dynamics investigation of plasticity in a model nanocrystalline silicon system demonstrates that inelastic deformation localizes in intergranular regions. The carriers of plasticity in these regions are atomic environments, which can be described as high-density liquid-like amorphous silicon. During fully developed flow, plasticity is confined to system-spanning intergranular zones of easy flow. As an active flow zone rotates out of the plane of maximum resolved shear stress during deformation to large strain, new zones of easy flow are formed. Compatibility of the microstructure is accommodated by processes such as grain rotation and formation of new grains. Nano-scale voids or cracks may form if stress concentrations emerge which cannot be relaxed by a mechanism that simultaneously preserves microstructural compatibility.