Statistical Characterization of the Yield Stress of Nanoparticles

L Yang and JJ Bian and WK Yuan and GF Wang, ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA, 34, 149-156 (2021).

DOI: 10.1007/s10338-020-00212-w

Atomistic simulations are performed to study the statistical mechanical properties of gold nanoparticles. It is demonstrated that the yielding behavior of gold nanoparticles is governed by the dislocation nucleation around surface steps. Since the nucleation of dislocation is an activated process with the aid of thermal fluctuation, the yield stress at a specific temperature should vary statistically rather than being a definite constant value. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the yield stress follows a Gaussian distribution at a specific temperature. As the temperature increases, the mean value of yield stress decreases while the width of distribution becomes larger. Based on the numerical analysis, the dependence of mean yield stress on temperature can be well described by a parabolic function. This study illuminates the statistical features of the yielding behavior of nanostructured elements.

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