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Cold-temperature deformation of nano-sized tungsten and niobium as revealed by in-situ nano-mechanical experiments

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  • Special Topic: Mechanical Behaviour of Micro- and Nano-Scale Materials
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Abstract

We constructed and developed an in-situ cryogenic nanomechanical system to study small-scale mechanical behavior of materials at low temperatures. Uniaxial compression of two body-centered-cubic (bcc) metals, Nb and W, with diameters between 400 and 1300 nm, was studied at room temperature and at 165 K. Experiments were conducted inside of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with a nanomechanical module, with simultaneous cooling of sample and diamond tip. Stress-strain data at 165 K exhibited higher yield strengths and more extensive strain bursts on average, as compared to those at 298 K. We discuss these differences in the framework of nano-sized plasticity and intrinsic lattice resistance. Dislocation dynamics simulations with surface-controlled dislocation multiplication were used to gain insight into size and temperature effects on deformation of nano-sized bcc metals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

    Seok-Woo Lee, YinTong Cheng & Julia R. Greer

  2. School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Ill Ryu

Authors
  1. Seok-Woo Lee
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  2. YinTong Cheng
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  3. Ill Ryu
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  4. Julia R. Greer
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Correspondence to Seok-Woo Lee.

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Lee, SW., Cheng, Y., Ryu, I. et al. Cold-temperature deformation of nano-sized tungsten and niobium as revealed by in-situ nano-mechanical experiments. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 57, 652–662 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-014-5502-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-014-5502-8

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