Effect of surfaces, internal and external, on the strength and ductility of metals

现代微电子和微机械设备包含微小的微米，通常是亚微米尺寸的金属部件。这些组件显示出显着增加的强度相比，其更大的散装金属同行。描述其独特性质的理论通常与描述经典大块金属部件强度的理论完全不同，尽管在两种情况下金属是相同的。在所有长度尺度上，金属的塑性变形都受到变形金属周围的外表面和内表面的强烈影响。本研究将探讨长度尺度相关的金属塑性变形的主题，通过考虑各种类型的内部和外部表面的变形过程中的相对影响。 通过这种方式，将达到对塑性变形过程的统一理解，这将大大提高我们对现有和新的金属部件的机械强度和延展性的预测能力，无论其尺寸如何。 这项研究将采用专门的微机械测试技术和数值模拟。将对微米大小的单晶金样品进行压缩测试，以评估外表面条件对其特征强度和塑性变形的影响。将评估晶体取向和外表面物理约束等因素。还将对双晶金和金合金样品进行压缩测试，以评估内表面条件对塑性变形过程的影响。将评估这些表面的角度定向误差和物理限制等因素。还将对上述样品进行恒定压缩载荷蠕变试验，以评估内外表面在阻碍随时间变化的塑性变形方面的作用。这些试验，沿着试验前后对内外表面的广泛分析，将允许评估各种类型表面对临界应力和启动和维持塑性变形过程所需能量的影响。 这项研究将深刻地扩展我们对金属如何在所有长度尺度上塑性变形的理解，并将特别扩展我们对各种类型的内部和外部表面对塑性变形过程的影响的理解。这些发现与所有金属系统相关，并且对于实现现有金属部件（无论大小）的强度的更好预测能力以及开发具有微结构特征的新部件（例如具有特定特征的内部和外部表面）是绝对必要的，这些特征可定制以产生最佳机械性能。

Modern microelectronic and micromechanical devices contain tiny micrometer, and often submicrometer, size metal components. These components display significantly increased strength compared to their larger bulk metal counterparts. Theories describing their unique properties are often quite different than those describing the strength of classical bulk metal components despite the fact that the metal is the same in both cases. The plastic deformation of metals, across all length scales, is strongly influenced by the condition of the external surface around, and internal surfaces within, the deforming metal. This proposed study will approach the subject of length-scale dependent plastic deformation of metals by considering the relative influence of a variety of types of internal and external surfaces on the deformation process. In this way a unified understanding of the plastic deformation process will be arrived at that will greatly improve our predictive capability of the mechanical strength and ductility of existing, and new, metal components regardless of their size. This study will be undertaken by using specialized micromechanical testing techniques and numerical simulations. Monocrystalline gold samples, of micrometer size, will be tested in compression to assess the effect of external surface condition on their characteristic strength and plastic deformation. Factors such as crystallographic orientation and physical constraint of the external surfaces will be assessed. Bicrystalline gold and gold alloy samples will also be tested in compression to assess the effect of internal surface condition on the plastic deformation process. Factors such as angular misorientation and physical constraint of these surfaces will be assessed. Constant compressive load creep tests will also be performed on samples listed above to assess the role of the internal and external surfaces on impeding time-dependent plastic deformation. These tests, along with extensive analysis of the internal and external surfaces before and after testing, will allow assessment to be made of the effect of the various types of surfaces on the critical stress and energy necessary to initiate, and sustain, the plastic deformation process. This research will profoundly expand our understanding of how metals deform plastically across all length scales and will specifically expand our understanding of the effect of various types of internal and external surfaces on the plastic deformation process. These findings are relevant to all metal systems and are absolutely necessary for achieving better predictive capabilities of the strength of existing metal components, large and small, and for developing new components with microstructural features, such as internal and external surfaces of specific characteristics, that are tailored to produce optimal mechanical performance.