MECHANICAL DEFORMATION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE MATERIALS

The deformation of a nanometre-size wire containing multiple grain bou ndaries has been studied using molecular dynamics. We observe a splitt ing of the grain boundaries, followed by the migration of the new grai n boundaries, leading to a complete transformation of the original gra ins. The stress-strain curves obtained from the simulations clearly sh ow the effect of the grain boundaries on the mechanical properties. Th ese simulations show how the grain boundaries in nanocrystalline mater ials dominate the mechanical properties.