Semi-empirical calculation of solid surface tensions in body-centred cubic transition metals

Calculation of Surface Properties of Cubic and Hexagonal Crystals through Molecular Statics Simulations

Surface property is an important factor that is widely considered in crystal growth and design. It is also found to play a critical role in changing the constitutive law seen in the classical elasticity theory for nanomaterials. Through molecular static simulations, this work presents the calculation of surface properties (surface energy density, surface stress and surface stiffness) of some typical cubic and hexagonal crystals: face-centered-cubic (FCC) pure metals (Cu, Ni, Pd and Ag), body-centered-cubic (BCC) pure metals (Mo and W), diamond Si, zincblende GaAs and GaN, hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) pure metals (Mg, Zr and Ti), and wurzite GaN. Sound agreements of the bulk and surface properties between this work and the literature are found. New results are first reported for the surface stiffness of BCC pure metals, surface stress and surface stiffness of HCP pure metals, Si, GaAs and GaN. Comparative studies of the surface properties are carried out to uncover trends in their behaviors. The results in this work could be helpful to the investigation of material properties and structure performances of crystals.

Surface elastic constants of a soft solid

Solid interfaces have intrinsic elasticity. However, in most experiments, this is obscured by bulk stresses. Through microscopic observations of the contact-line geometry of a partially wetting droplet on an anisotropically stretched substrate, we measure two surface-elastic constants that quantify the linear dependence of the surface stress of a soft polymer gel on its strain. With these two parameters, one can predict surface stresses for general deformations of the material in the linear-elastic limit.

Crystal-melt interface stresses: atomistic simulation calculations for a Lennard-Jones binary alloy, Stillinger-Weber Si, and embedded atom method Ni

Molecular-dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations have been used to compute the crystal-melt interface stress (f) in a model Lennard-Jones (LJ) binary alloy system, as well as for elemental Si and Ni modeled by many-body Stillinger-Weber and embedded-atom-method (EAM) potentials, respectively. For the LJ alloys the interface stress in the (100) orientation was found to be negative and the f vs composition behavior exhibits a slight negative deviation from linearity. For Stillinger-Weber Si, a positive interface stress was found for both (100) and (111) interfaces: f{100}=(380+/-30)mJ/m{2} and f{111}=(300+/-10)mJ/m{2}. The Si (100) and (111) interface stresses are roughly 80 and 65% of the value of the interfacial free energy (gamma) , respectively. In EAM Ni we obtained f{100}=(22+/-74)mJ/m{2}, which is an order of magnitude lower than gamma. A qualitative explanation for the trends in f is discussed.

Grain boundaries as heterogeneous systems: atomic and continuum elastic properties

The relation between atomic structure and elastic properties of grain boundaries is investigated theoretically from both atomistic and continuum points of view. A heterogeneous continuum model of the boundary is introduced where distinct phases are associated with individual atoms and possess their atomic level elastic moduli determined from the discrete model. The effective elastic moduli for sub-blocks from an infinite bicrystal are then calculated for a relatively small number of atom layers above and below the grain boundary. These effective moduli can be determined exactly for the discrete atomistic model, while estimates from upper and lower bounds are evaluated in the framework of the continuum model. The complete fourth-order elastic modulus tensor is calculated for both the local and the effective properties. Comparison between the discrete atomistic results and those for the continuum model establishes the validity of this model and leads to criteria to assess the stability of a given grain boundary structure. For stable structures the continuum estimates of the effective moduli agree well with the exact effective moduli for the discrete model. Metastable and unstable structures are associated with a significant fraction of atoms (phases) for which the atomic-level moduli lose positive definiteness or even strong ellipticity. In those cases, the agreement between the effective moduli of the discrete and continuum systems breaks down.