Failure Mechanisms and Scaling Laws of Nanoporous Aluminum: A Computational Study

N Winter and M Becton and LY Zhang and XQ Wang, ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, 18, 632-642 (2016).

DOI: 10.1002/adem.201500315

Recent nanomechanical experiments and simulations reveal a ligament size-dependent effect on the strength of nanowires, nanocolumns, and nanofoams. Here, we show the failure mechanism and scaling laws of nanoporous aluminum (np-Al) using a molecular dynamics case study. We develop scaling laws for Young's modulus, yield strength, ultimate strength, and toughness with respect to relative density and ligament diameter for np-Al. Our findings offer useful insights into the knowledge of nanoporous metals' mechanical properties in order to support material scientists' intention of developing fully comprehensive scaling laws for nanoporous metals.

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