Small volume mechanical response insights: revealed contributions in advancing high mechanical performance

Abstract

Three factors have emerged in order to upgrade the understanding of ultra small volume mechanical behavior in terms of multi-scale analysis and models. Firstly, the global/local approach based on physical models formulation, secondly, the continuous effort vis-à-vis microelectronic requirements for effective material performance and thirdly, the remarkable progress in experimental capacity that requires ultra-fine features visualization and measurements beside computational abilities. The current study is centered on iron based silicon polycrystalline alloy and the mechanical characterization of 20-50 nm silicon particles by contact methodology at ambient temperatures. In both, either monotonic or cyclic, mechanical properties were size dependent. Regarding the iron-silicon single crystals, mini compact tension specimens enabled the tracking of crack-tip dislocation emissions and their interactions in order to deepen the shielding potential exploration. Deformation/fracture processes and ductile-brittle fracture models could be elaborated. The aforementioned examples in elastic-plastic crystals were still intended to emphasize conceptual insights. Higher mechanical performance is examined from emerging localized findings and nanomechanical response analysis.