Effect of the Sigma 5(310)/[001]theta=53.1 degrees grain boundary on the incipient yield of bicrystal copper: A quasicontinuum simulation and nanoindentation experiment
D. B. Shan and L. M. Wang and L. Yuan
Journal of Materials Research, 28, 766-773 (2013).

ABSTRACT
To study the initial plasticity during the nanoindentation of face-centered
cubic bicrystal materials at the micro- and nanoscales, a Sigma
5(310)/[001]theta = 53.1 degrees symmetrical tilt grain boundary (GB) model of
bicrystal copper was constructed using the quasicontinuum method. The
nanoindentation process of the model was then simulated, and a group of indents
across the GB during a bicrystal copper nanoindentation experiment were
performed. The effect of the GB on the incipient yield was studied when the
transition from elastic to plastic deformation and the first dislocation
emission occur. The results show that the maximum incipient load appears in the
center of the boundary; the load first increases and then gradually decreases
until it presents no further significant changes when the indenter is far from
the GB. It is observed that theoretical simulation results are in good agreement
with those of the experimental measurement. The incipient yield force was
affected by the size and the position of the indenter, the structure of the
boundary, and the first dislocation emission.