ATOMISTIC SIMULATION OF TORSIONAL VIBRATION AND PLASTIC DEFORMATION OF FIVE-FOLD TWINNED COPPER NANOWIRES

Abstract

In this paper, atomistic simulations have been conducted to investigate the torsional mechanical behaviors of five-fold twinned nanowires (FTNs), including the torsional vibration properties, elasto-plastic deformation behaviors and activation process of the first partial dislocation nucleation. Simulation results show that the fundamental torsional vibration frequency is inversely proportional to the wire length and is independent of the wire radius. Provided that an effective shear modulus of FTNs is used, the classic elastic torsional theory may be applicable to nanoscale. Furthermore, it is found that the plastic deformation of FTNs is dominated by partial dislocation activities. The normalized critical torsional angle corresponding to the onset of plastic deformation increases with the decrease of the wire radius and temperature, while it is almost independent of the wire length and loading rate. In addition, the activation energy of the first partial dislocation nucleation is about several electric voltages and decreases with the increase of the wire radius and applied torsional load.