Effects of copper nanoparticle inclusions on pressure-induced fluid-polynanocrystalline structural transitions in krypton

Abstract

The dependence of nanoscale crystal formation from a noble element fluid on the rate of hydrodynamic compression was explored using molecular dynamics. Results were obtained for pure krypton samples as well as ones containing a cubic- or spherical-shaped fcc copper nanocrystal inclusion for compression rates of 1, 10, and 20 MPa/ps. In the absence of Cu, Kr crystals nucleate with apparently random locations and orientations in the sample; slower compression leads to larger nanocrystal size. The effect of the Cu inclusion is to partially mediate the location, orientation, and size of the formed crystals. The effect is larger for the slower compression rate and when the inclusion is cubic rather than spherical in shape. For sufficiently slow compression, the stress state in the cubic Cu inclusion changes from hydrostatic to non-hydrostatic as a consequence of the formation of extended orthotropic hcp/fcc nanostructures in the Kr. The mechanism of the dynamic stress-induced nanostructural transition is explained qualitatively in terms of known geometric effects on the quasi-static indentation response of crystalline materials.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 18, 2014
Source ID
10.1063/1.4904441

Entities

People

  • Donald L. Thompson
  • Shan Jiang
  • Suleiman Y. Oloriegbe
  • Thomas D. Sewell
  • Yong Gan
  • Zhen Chen

Organizations

  • Dalian University of Technology
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • University of Missouri
  • Zhejiang University

Tags

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics