Sample Dimensions Influence Strength and Crystal Plasticity
Abstract
When a crystal deforms plastically, phenomena such as dislocation storage, multiplication, motion, pinning, and nucleation occur over the submicron-to-nanometer scale. Here we report measurements of plastic yielding for single crystals of micrometer-sized dimensions for three different types of metals. We find that within the tests, the overall sample dimensions artificially limit the length scales available for plastic processes. The results show dramatic size effects at surprisingly large sample dimensions. These results emphasize that at the micrometer scale, one must define both the external geometry and internal structure to characterize the strength of a material.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 13, 2004
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.1098993
Entities
People
- Dennis M. Dimiduk
- Jeffrey N. Florando
- Michael D. Uchic
- William D. Nix
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Stanford University