Shearing single crystal magnesium in the close-packed basal plane at different temperatures

Shear behaviors of single crystal magnesium (Mg) in close-packed (0001) basal plane along the [1¯21¯0], [12¯10], [101¯0] and [1¯010] directions were studied using molecular dynamics simulations via EAM potential. The results show that both shear stress-strain curves along the four directions and the motion path of free atoms during shearing behave periodic characteristics. It reveals that the periodic shear displacement is inherently related to the crystallographic orientation in single crystal Mg. Moreover, different temperatures in a range from 10 to 750 K were considered, demonstrating that shear modulus decreases with increasing temperatures. The results agree well with the MTS model. It is manifested that the modulus is independent with the shear direction and the size of the atomic model. This work also demonstrates that the classical description of shear modulus is still effective at the nanoscale.