Mechanical properties of materials at micro/nano scales

Mechanical properties of materials in small dimensions, including the depth-dependent hardness at the nano/micrometer scales, and the mechanical characterization of thin films and nanotubes, are reported. The surface effect on the depth-dependent nano/microhardness was studied and an apparent surface stress was introduced to represent the energy dissipated per unit area of a solid surface. A plastic bearing ratio model was proposed for the nanoindentation of rough surfaces. The energy dissipation occurring at the indented surface is among the factors that cause the Indentation Size Effect (ISE) at the micro/nanometer scales. Furthermore, an elastic-plastic bearing ratio model was developed for nanoindentation of rough surfaces with a flat indenter tip. The theoretical predictions agree with the experimental results and finite element simulations, from which the elastic constant and the surface hardness were extracted. The surface hardness exhibits an inverse ISE due to the interaction of asperities. The nanoindentation tests on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) may lead to the formation of carbon tubes, which are rolled up by the delaminated graphite layers. The nanoindentation loading-unloading curves reveal single pop-in and multiple pop-in phenomena, which is induced by fracture of the graphite layers and/or by delamination between the layers. From the load at pop-in, the fracture strength of the layers and/or the bonding strength between the layers can be estimated by the elastic field model for Hertzian contact including sliding friction for transverse isotropy. Two novel methods were developed to estimate the mechanical properties of films, including the Raman spectra method for the estimation of residual stresses in thin ferroelectric films and the microbridge testing method for the mechanical characterization of trilayer thin films. Mechanical characterization was also carried out on Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) nanotubes with each being comprised of a RNA strand and 2130 identical coat protein. The nanobridge test determines the ratio of the deflection over the applied force for the different lengths of bridges, while the nanoindentation test gives the ratio of the applied force over the change in the nanotube's height. From these experimental data, we estimated the elastic modulus of TMV nanotubes with the model considering the substrate deformation