Cross-sectional Shape Dependence at Nanometer Scale
REU Student: Damaris Valero-Diaz, University of Puerto Rico
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tahir Cagin
It is expected that for macro scale pillars the shape of their cross-section has no impact on their behavior when referring to a stress that is being applied to it, but this could differ for nano scale pillars. This knowledge will help understand better the behavior of materials and their mechanical properties, such as metal, at nano scale. This research consisted of analyzing the behavior of palladium nano pillars in response to an applied tensile strain. Palladium nano pillar models with the same length, but with different cross-sectional shape were made, maintaining the cross-sectional area constant for an accurate comparison. Molecular dynamic simulations of the same applied tensile strain were carried out for each of the models. Data from the simulations was plotted for better analysis of the nano pillars mechanical properties.