Formation of a pore as stress relaxation mechanism in decahedral small particles

Abstract

A theoretical model of mechanical stress relaxation in decahedral particles by the formation of a central spherical pore is suggested and analyzed within an energy approach. The strain energy of a hollow decahedral particle is found in a closed analytical form. It is shown that there is a critical radius of a decahedral particle below which the formation of a central pore is not energetically favorable, while above which it is. The optimal radius of the pore increases with growth of the particle. Theoretical results are verified with available experimental data on observation of hollow decahedral particles.