Theory of Elasticity at the Nanoscale

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Professor Bhushan Karihaloo, Cardiff University
• Friday 13 November 2009, 14:00-15:00
• Oatley Seminar Room, Department of Engineering.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Ms Helen Gardner.

We have shown in a series of recent papers that the classical theory of elasticity can be extended to the nanoscale by supplementing the equations of elasticity for the bulk material with the generalized Young–Laplace equations of surface elasticity in order to capture the often unusual mechanical and physical properties of nano-structured particulate and porous materials. This talk, based on the review paper Advances in Applied Mechanics (42, 2009, 1-68), will describe how this has been done. It will begin with a description of the generalized Young–Laplace equations. It will then generalize the classical Eshelby formalism to nano-inhomogeneities; the Eshelby tensor now depends on the size of the inhomogeneity and the location of the material point in it. Then the stress concentration factor of a spherical nanovoid is calculated, as well as the strain fields in quantum dots (QDs) with multi-shell structures and in alloyed QDs induced by the mismatch in the lattice constants of the atomic species. This will be followed by a generalization of the micromechanical framework for determining the effective elastic properties and effective coefficients of thermal expansion of heterogeneous solids containing nano-inhomogeneities. It will be shown, for example, that the elastic constants of nanochannel-array materials with a large surface area can be made to exceed those of the nonporous matrices through pore surface modification or coating. Finally, the scaling laws governing the properties of nano-structured materials are derived. The underlying cause of the size dependence of these properties at the nanoscale is the competition between surface and bulk energies. These laws provide a yardstick for checking the accuracy of experimentally measured or numerically computed properties of nano-structured materials over a broad size range and can thus help replace repeated and exhaustive testing by one or a few tests.

This talk is part of the Engineering - Mechanics and Materials Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Cambridge University Engineering Department Talks
• Cambridge talks
• Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction
• Computational Continuum Mechanics Group Seminars
• Engineering - Mechanics and Materials Seminar Series
• Engineering - Mechanics, Materials and Design (Div C) - talks and events
• Featured lists
• Interested Talks
• Lennard-Jones Centre external
• Oatley Seminar Room, Department of Engineering
• School of Technology
• Trust & Technology Initiative - interesting events
• bld31

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.