US-Germany Cooperative Research: Interaction Forces in Nanoindentation of Composite Materials

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0233261BelBrunoThis award supports the PI and graduate students from Dartmouth College in a collaboration with Asta Richter of the Institute for Engineering Physics at the University of Applied Sciences-Wildau, Germany. The German expertise in experimental techniques will be combined with the US expertise in computational modeling will combine to enhance understanding of the nanoindentation process. The proposed research focuses on the indenter tip-crystal interaction, with particular emphasis on deformation of atomic layers and the creation of defects and cracks at the nanoscale level. The computational effort, including simulations, will explore the effect of nanoindentation on the surface layers at an atomistic level, looking at correlations between experimental parameters and displacement/elastic processes at the surface. The experiments will measure mechanical properties of very thin films and composite materials, which will yield quality measures for mechanical properties, like hardness and Young's modulus, to classify thin film structures on micro-and nanoscales. The new quality measures are needed to characterize nonomaterials.The project also has an educational objective. The project will allow the graduate students involved to benefit from performing research in another country. They will develop a heightened appreciation of the world around them while also learning important new technical skills.