The fracture behavior of twinned Cu nanowires: A molecular dynamics simulation

The molecular dynamics simulations are performed to explore the fracture behavior and the ductility of the twinned Cu nanowires containing orthogonally oriented growth CTBs due to the uniaxial tensile deformation. The results reveal that, the fracture behavior and the ductility of the twinned nanowires are not related to the length of the nanowires but also intensively related to the twin boundary spacing. When the twin boundary space is changed, the twinned nanowires undergo three distinct failure modes which include ductile fracture, brittle fracture and ductile-to-brittle transition depending on the length of the nanowires. We also find a reduction in the ductility of the twinned nanowires, which is ascribed to the deformation localization induced by the Lomer dislocation and the rapid necking resulted from the twinning partial slipping. Finally, the atomic-level process that occurs during deformation until final fracture are examined in detail, and a new formation mechanism of the Lomer dislocation is observed when a 90° partial dislocation transmits across a coherent twin boundary.