Helically Perforated Thin Films -- Dependence of Mechanical Properties on Microstructure

Abstract

AbstractThe effects of several microstructural parameters on the mechanical behaviour of a helically perforated thin film structure, or inverse microspring, were investigated using a finite element model[1]. The parameters investigated were the helical pitch angle, the cross-section radius, and the coil spacing. The elastic modulus was found to depend most strongly on the helical pitch angle (changing by a factor of 1.3 as the pitch angle went from 35° to 70°). Variations in the coil radius and the film thickness had a minor effect on the modulus. It was also found that using a finite size model (as opposed to an infinite model using periodic boundary conditions) produced better conditioned results. A preliminary confirmation of the model's validity was performed by comparison to nanoindentation results of a nickel helically perforated thin film.