Atomistic insights into nanoindentation-induced deformation of α-Al2O3 single crystals

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Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2023-10-29

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Mcode

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en

Pages

12

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Vacuum, Volume 219, pp. 1-12

Abstract

The plastic deformability of brittle ceramics, e.g., Al2O3, at a small scale can expand their potential structural applications. In this work, we propose to investigate the nanomechanics and plasticity of α-Al2O3 using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at room temperature. First, nanoindentation MD simulations are performed with single crystalline α-Al2O3. Four crystallographic orientations are investigated, m 11̄00, a 21̄1̄0, R 1̄012 and c 0001, including a detailed analysis of Al2O3 dislocation-based mechanisms. The results show that the O atoms undergo a phase transformation, changing from the hexagonal close-packed structure to face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic structures. Second, during nanoindentation, we focus on pop-in events and the transformation point from elastic to inelastic response during loading forces. The results are discussed in the context of recent transmission electron microscope experiments, possibly opening new doors towards ceramic bulk material processes.

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Funding Information: We acknowledge support from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 857470 and from the European Regional Development Fund via the Foundation for Polish Science International Research Agenda PLUS program grant No. MAB PLUS/2018/8. We acknowledge the computational resources provided by the High Performance Cluster at the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Poland. | openaire: EC/H2020/857470/EU//NOMATEN

Keywords

Dislocation dynamics, Mechanical behaviors, Molecular dynamics, Nanoindentation, Phase transformation, α-AlO

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Citation

Xu, Q, Zaborowska, A, Mulewska, K, Huo, W, Karimi, K, Domínguez-Gutiérrez, F J, Kurpaska, Ł, Alava, M J & Papanikolaou, S 2023, ' Atomistic insights into nanoindentation-induced deformation of α-Al 2 O 3 single crystals ', Vacuum, vol. 219, 112733, pp. 1-12 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2023.112733