Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Predicting The Mechanical Properties Of Nanocomposites Reinforced With 1-D, 2-D And 3-D Nanomaterials, Scott Edward Muller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Materials with features at the nanoscale can provide unique mechanical properties and increased functionality when included as part of a nanocomposite. This dissertation utilizes computational methods at multiple scales, including molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT), and the coupled atomistic and discrete dislocation multiscale method (CADD), to predict the mechanical properties of nanocomposites possessing nanomaterials that are either 1-D (carbyne chains), 2-D (graphene sheets), or 3-D (Al/amorphous-Si core-shell nanorod).

The MD method is used to model Ni-graphene nanocomposites. The strength of a Ni-graphene nanocomposite is found to improve by increasing the gap between the graphene sheet and a …

Interactions Between Dislocations And Three-Dimensional Annealing Twins In Face Centered Cubic Metals, Yanxiang Liang, Xiaofang Yang, Mingyu Gong, Guisen Liu, Qing Liu, Jian Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Annealing twins often form in metals with a face centered cubic structure during thermal and mechanical processing. Here, we conducted molecular dynamic (MD) simulations for copper and aluminum to study the interaction processes between {1 1 1}1/2 <1 1 0> dislocations and a three-dimensional annealing twin. Twin boundaries are characterized with Σ3{1 1 1} coherent twin boundaries (CTBs) and Σ3{1 1 2} incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs). MD results revealed that dislocation-ITB interactions affect slip transmission for a dislocation crossing CTBs, facilitating the nucleation of Lomer dislocation.

Comparative Study Of Analytical Models Of The Gruneisen Parameter Of Metals As Function Of Pressure, Celia Garcia Amparan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Commonly used Gruneisen parameter (γ) models only hold accurate in limited regimes making them inapplicable for use over wide temperature-pressure conditions. The accuracy of these analytical models of γ and of the thermal expansion of solids are of particular interest as these are considered proxies for quantifying anharmonicity, which may be a significant contribution to the thermal pressure at high temperatures. This work reviews various definitions of γ and their relations to the equations of state and apply them to two simple metals: Tantalum (Ta) and Copper (Cu), for which a high body of experimental data exists. Classical Molecular Dynamics …