Effects of twin orientation and spacing on the mechanical properties of Cu nanowires

The role of twin orientation in mechanical behaviors of nanomaterials is drawing increasing attention. In this paper, atomistic simulations on the tensile deformation of twinned Cu nanowires (NWs) are implemented to investigate the twin orientation and spacing effects. The results of numerical simulations reveal that the tensile deformation mechanisms can be divided into three types with the twin orientation varying from 0° to 90°: dislocations slip intersecting with twin boundary (TB), stacking faults formed parallel to the TB and TB migration. Detail analysis about dislocation motion is carried out to illustrate the plastic deformation mechanisms. In addition, with the increasing of the TB spacing, there is a transition from yield with strain hardening to yield with nearly constant flow stress. The peak stress decreases with the increase of TB spacing, which can be attributed to surface roughness caused by crystal reorientation. Our findings also suggest a possible approach to tune the mechanical behaviors of low dimensional nanostructures.