Hanchen Huang and George Dvorak, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This project aims to determine the strain-structure relationship of a novel sandwich nanostructure. Based on self-organization, the Principal Investigator and his team have deposited Cu on SiO2 substrate. The Cu self-organizes into three layers: uniform <111> texture to porous <110> texture and back to uniform <111> texture, forming a novel sandwich structure with each layer being hundreds nanometers in thickness. Taking this sandwich structure as a prototype, the investigators will establish the strain-structure relationship by using a combination of atomistic simulations and multiscale micromechanics modeling. The scientific contribution of this project will be in the establishment of strain-structure relationship of nanoscale sandwich structures. The strain-structure relationship will enable one to design the sandwich structures (in terms of its layers thicknesses) and to apply it in various nanotechnologies. The broader impacts of this project include the education of graduate students, particularly those underrepresented, and the enrichment of graduate course Nanomechanics of Materials at RPI.
