Mechanical stability of nanoporous metals with small ligament sizes

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2009.05.005
• Publication Date: 2009-05-11T08:18:42Z
• Authors: Douglas A. Crowson; Diana Farkas; Sean G. Corcoran
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

Digital samples of nanoporous gold with small ligament sizes were studied by atomistic simulation using different interatomic potentials that represent varying surface stress values. We predict a surface relaxation driven mechanical instability for these materials. Plastic deformation is induced by the surface stress without external load, related to the combination of the surface stress value and the surface to volume ratio.