Research

Size dependence of deformation of materials

Principal investigator: Andy BUSHBY
Co-investigator(s): D.J. Dunstan, NPL and Cambridge University

The strength of materials are often observed to increase at small length scales and such effects are exploited in nano-technology. The effect of grain size in metals (Hall-Petch effect) and strain gradient strengthening are examples. In this project we have developed a micro-flexure test method that allows us to test pure metal foils over a range of strain from zero to unity, for a wide range of foil thickness and grain size. These results allow us to unravel the contribution that each phenomenon adds to the strength.