Effects of layered structure, composition, and annealing on nanoformed Au-Cu rods using molecular dynamics simulation

► Shear bands occur at the Au/Cu interface for a workpiece with an Au-Cu layer arrangement. ► The internal energy of a workpiece increase with increasing proportion of Au atoms. ► The recovery ratio increases with increasing proportion of Au atoms. ► A thermal annealing process increases the speeds of atomic recovery and strain energy relaxation.