The origin of nanoindentation can be traced to the 1980s with the development
of the first instrumented hardness testers providing submicrometer accuracy.
However, it took the 1992 seminal publication by W.C. Oliver and G.M. Pharr to
effectively launch the field. Their novel data evaluation procedure, later
dubbed the “Oliver-Pharr method”, has directly enabled numerous transformative
research efforts in a diverse range of fields spanning materials science,
geology, biology and medicine. Up to now, it remains indispensable for ensuring
the service performance and lifetime of essential small components, such as
thin films and coatings, electronic sensors and MEMS.
This symposium aims at bringing together the different generations of
researchers, as well as the different fields and applications. It will
highlight the amazing range of applications and the robustness of the
Oliver-Pharr method. A mixture of well-established invited speakers and
promising younger researchers will address how everything started, how
nanoindentation is currently used, and what the future of small-scale
mechanical testing might look like.
Topics of interest:
• General aspects of nanoindentation including historical background
• Nanoindentation in-method development, standardization
• New approaches towards data science
• Dynamic nanoindentation (CSM, CMX, dynamics….)
• Refinements in understanding
• Indentation Size Effects
• Thermally activated deformation behavior
• Extreme testing environments, e.g. high and low temperatures, irradiation,
electrochemical or high strain rates
• Complex loading conditions, such as cyclic fatigue, fracture testing
• In-situ testing in SEM, TEM or synchrotron
• Stress-strain measurements, e.g. from spherical nanoindentation
• Structural and functional materials; thin films, metals, ceramics, amorphous
& crystalline
• Soft and viscoelastic materials behavior
Additive manufacturing technologies enable microstructure and hence, mechanical
properties to be tailored locally through careful selection of processing
parameters and strategies. The characterization of mechanical properties
behavior at both the micro- and nano-scales is critical for the fundamental
understanding of relationships between processing, structure, and properties.
This includes the elastic-plastic response, residual stresses, creep and
relaxation properties, fracture toughness, and fatigue in local scales in
additively manufactured materials. This symposium focuses on the properties of
various additively manufactured materials (metals, ceramics, polymers,
biological/ bio-inspired materials, composites) at small length-scales from
both theoretical/modeling and experimental viewpoints. The scope includes, but
not limited to, the following areas:
• Microstructure-micromechanics relationships of additive manufactured materials
• Location-specific property characterization in additive manufacturing through
micro/nano-indentation testing
• In-situ nanomechanical measurements in application environments (thermal,
electrical, electrochemical, and biological stimuli)
• Small scale quasi-static tests (tension, compression, bending, and torsional
tests)
• Small scale fatigue, creep, and impact tests
• Nano-scale measurements of strain and stress
• Micromechanics-based modeling in additive manufacturing
Evaluating the evolution of nuclear fuel during reactor operation is essential
to foster the scientific understanding of fuel behavior. This can provide the
data needed to enhance the burn-up of current fuels, enable the use of new
accident tolerant fuel forms and metallic fuels. With this research motivation
many research facilities worldwide have developed their ability to characterize
fresh and irradiated fuels utilizing advanced electron microscopy and thermal
characterization techniques.
The application of these techniques has led to fuels being studied before and
after service providing new knowledge and ideas to enhance burnup and fuel
utilization or investigate new fuel forms. In addition, these tools have been
applied to evaluate the movement of fission products and further the
understanding of the fuel clad chemical interactions and are now ready to be
deployed in other fields of research as well.
In parallel, model development and implementation of the data generated with
advanced techniques in physics-based models for fuel performance codes is
becoming increasingly important, both for current fuel burnup extension and
advanced fuel development.
This symposium aims to take a closer look at the evolution of the
microstructure and thermo-physical properties of nuclear fuels during service,
including the interaction region between fuel and cladding. Correspondingly,
the synergy with materials modeling in advancing and understanding fuels
performance under normal and accident conditions will be considered in the
symposium.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Scanning electron microscopy characterization of nuclear fuels and its
associated techniques such as Energy dispersive spectroscopy and
Wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Electron backscatter diffraction
Transmission electron microscopy characterization of nuclear fuels
3D reconstructions of electron backscatter diffraction or scanning election
microscopy images of nuclear fuels
Thermo-physical property measurements of both fresh and irradiated nuclear fuels
Modeling of nuclear fuel behavior during operation
The mechanical behavior of materials emerges from the aggregate operation of
competing deformation mechanisms that initiate at the nanoscale. Small-scale
mechanics investigations therefore provide critical insights into the
fundamentals of deformation phenomena and form a basis for scaling theories.
Additionally, the reduction of organizational scale often yields new
deformation mechanisms and mechanical behaviors that are not present in bulk
materials. This symposium will focus on the deformation behavior of
nanostructured materials. A wide variety of nanostructured materials are
considered within this scope including low-dimensional and 2D materials,
multilayers, nanoarchitectured materials and nanolattices, and bulk
nanocrystalline aggregates. Studies that examine size effects and scaling laws,
new nanoscale deformation phenomena, emerging methods in nanomechanical
characterization, and developments in modeling techniques are welcomed.
Topics will include:
• Size effects on elastic properties, strength, plasticity, fracture
mechanisms, adhesion, tribology and fatigue behavior in small-volume and
low-dimensional systems including nanopillars, nanowires, nanoparticles,
nanostructured fibers, 2D materials, thin films, multilayered materials, and
nanolattices
• New nanoscale deformation phenomena in emerging materials and materials
systems including concentrated multi-component solutions (e.g. high entropy
alloys), complex alloys, 2D materials, nanotwinned materials, and
nanoarchitectured systems
• Transitions in deformation mechanisms due to scaling effects such as
activation of interface-mediated mechanisms, exhaustion of deformation sources,
and size effects on strain-induced phase transformations
• Developments in ex situ and in situ (SEM, TEM, synchrotron, neutron, etc.)
techniques that push the limits of nanomechanical characterization (e.g. for
extreme conditions such as high temperatures and/or high strain rates)
• Modeling and simulation of deformation processes and mechanical properties at
the nanoscale, including coupling to meso/microscale methods
This symposium will highlight recent advances in nanoindentation and related
small-scale mechanical testing methods that have enhanced our fundamental
understanding of the deformation mechanisms that underpin the mechanical
behavior of macro-, micro-, and nanoscale materials. Presentations will
include studies of new testing systems and methods and their application in the
study of fundamental processes that control mechanical behavior at the nano-
and micro- scales. Efforts to characterize, understand, and predict the
mechanical behavior across length scales will be emphasized.
This award symposium was established to honor Professor William D. Nix and the
tremendous legacy that he has developed and shared with the minerals, metals,
and materials community and to highlight and promote continued progress and
innovation relevant to research into the underlying mechanisms and mechanical
behavior of macro-, micro-, and nanoscale materials. Professor Nix's seminal
paper with M.F. Doerner in 1986 set the stage for the development of
nanoindentation as a primary enabling tool in this important area of research.
Professor Nix’s research and seminal contributions to structural materials,
thin films, and nanoscale plasticity have had significant impact on critical
U.S. industries, spawned new fields of study, and motivated generations of
researchers working in fields that span from aerospace to microelectronics.
Breakthroughs in technologies for these critical industries depend heavily on
the availability of advanced materials that can be engineered and optimized at
the nanoscale. Professor Nix’s groundbreaking contributions have allowed us to
characterize, understand, and predict the mechanical behavior and reliability
of such materials and have been critical enablers of these key technologies.
While today’s materials scientists know the Griffith criteria and its eventual
impact on basic research, many may not be aware on how little impact it
initially had on basic and applied research. Particularly, there was little
academic instruction, and industry relied on the Charpy V-notch test as a
standard. One could tell the impact by examining Timoshenkso’s 1941 book. Here
it was mentioned that Griffith admitting that “very fine scratches on glass do
not produce a weakening effect was because there were internal defects in the
glass with just as high a stress concentration factor.” Following Timoshenko
was Nadai’s 1951 book which demonstrated some advances in experimental insight,
as electron microscopy and sophisticated test systems for fracture analysis
were in their infancy. It was not until the rapid advances in aerospace and
aeronuatics in the late 50’s that basic research was able to widely take
advantage of the Griffith methodology at large research enterprises and
establish the ASTM E-24 fracture toughness standard. While this was largely a
response to needing improved aircraft and “deeper” space probes, it provided
all engineering and basic science an order of magnitude increase in
sophistication. In recognition of the importance of Griffith’s work on the
materials community, this symposium will provide researchers the opportunity to
provide of fundamental and practical advances in fracture, with a focus on
small scales, dynamics, expanded temperature and time, and imaging advances,
and to provide historical context to their current work.
The subject areas of the symposium include, but are not limited to:
• Local analysis of stress and strain around crack tips
• Fracture of nanostructured materials (thin films, printed structures,
nanocrystalline materials, …)
• Size effects on fracture behavior
• New developments in fracture testing techniques using coupled in-situ
measurements (electrical, optical, mechanical, etc.) or in enhanced
environments (high temperatures, humidity controlled, etc.)
• Atomistic and finite element modelling of fracture
• Brittle fracture in heterogeneous materials
• Strategies to avoid brittle fracture
• Interface and grain boundary fracture
Current and future generation nuclear reactors require improved structural
materials that improve efficiency during in-service conditions, allow for long
reactor lifetimes, and increase safety during accidents. Given the increasingly
large number of reactor design being considered (e.g. fusion, molten salt,
LWRs, etc.), a series of distinct material concepts have been proposed to
address these needs. Effects of reactor environments on mechanical behavior
will be a key component to predicting strength and performance of materials in
the aforementioned circumstances.
This symposium aims to take a closer look at the mechanical behavior of reactor
components across length scales. With recent advancements and increased use of
in-situ techniques, more is known about irradiation effects on strength than
ever before. Simultaneously, ex-situ techniques are critical to probe
component-sized parts, and validate the use of a material for inclusion within
a reactor. Furthermore, synergy with materials modeling is advancing the
prediction of material performance under normal and accident conditions, as
well as reactor lifetimes.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Mechanical behavior testing, including tension, compression, bend, bulge,
creep, fatigue, and fracture
• Effects of environment on strength, including dose, dose rate, temperature,
and corrosion
• Hardness testing, including nanohardness and microhardness
• Development of microstructure sensitive material strength models
• Modeling and simulation of irradiation defect interactions during mechanical
testing
• Macroscopic component modeling for full scale performance
• In-situ mechanical testing, including micromechanical and nanomechanical
compression and tension
• Novel techniques to probe material strength under reactor conditions
Understanding the mechanics of materials in small volumes is of fundamental
importance because it simultaneously allows for the exploration of new
properties at the smallest of length scales as well as provides a basis for
understanding multiscale phenomena that originate at these length scales
acknowledging an interplay between size and properties. This symposium will
focus on the mechanical properties of small-volume and low-dimensional
materials, as well as bulk materials that are comprised of or are aggregates of
these materials including bulk nanostructured materials and nanoscale based
hierarchical materials. Studies that discuss sample size effects, changes in
mechanical properties at the nanoscale, applications of nanoscale mechanical
testing and the associated characterization, as well as modeling that addresses
the mechanical properties of these materials are welcome. Properties of
interest include, but are not limited to: elasticity, strength, plastic flow,
fatigue, and fracture.
Topics will include:
•Size effects on elasticity, strength, plastic flow, fracture and fatigue in
low dimensional materials including nanopillars, nanowires, nanoparticles, thin
films, multilayered materials, graded materials, and architecture-designed
materials.
•Changes in deformation types or patterns due to changes in scale including
those due to size affected phase transformations, changes in density and types
of interfaces, as well as available deformation sources.
•Nanomechanical testing of emerging materials, including high-entropy alloys,
complex metallic alloys, nano-twinned metals, for understanding their bulk
properties.
•Ex-situ and in-situ (SEM, TEM, XRD, neutron, etc.) mechanical characterization
methods.
•Modeling and simulation at all scales, as well as coupled scale modeling, of
mechanical behavior of nanostructured materials
This symposium will focus on recent developments in the field of fracture of
thin films and small volumes, focusing on the uncovering the mechanisms
responsible for improved properties. Such novel insights are enabled by
advanced testing technologies paired with comprehensive characterization at the
nanoscale and a suited fracture-mechanical analysis. With the wide variety of
applications (semiconductors, printed electronics, energy storage, protective
coatings, etc.) and the required control of structural and functional
properties, a better understanding of the relationship between processing,
microstructures, and failure mechanisms is required to design more robust and
reliable devices and structures for use in any environment. The deformation
characteristics of thin films and small volumes have been explored for years
using different in-situ and ex-situ techniques (nanoindentation, TEM, SEM,
micro-XRD, etc). However, the need for examination of local fracture processes
calls for dedicated testing techniques that permit high temporal and local
resolution of structural and mechanical properties, ideally coupled with
measurements of electrical or thermal characteristics under applied load.
Furthermore, the enhanced understanding of the impact of interface design on
fracture in thin films and nanostructured materials is of interest. The
combination of advanced testing techniques with adapted fracture mechanics
evaluation concepts will enable a safe design of future components based on
thin films and small volumes.
The subject areas of the symposium include, but are not limited to:
• Local analysis of stress and strain around crack tips
• Fracture of nanostructured materials (thin films, printed structures,
nanocrystalline materials, …)
• Developments in nanoporous materials for energy harvesting or storage
applications
• Fracture concepts to analyze miniaturized volumes and bridge scales to
macroscopic properties
• New developments in fracture testing techniques using coupled in-situ
measurements (electrical, optical, mechanical, etc.) or in enhanced
environments (high temperatures, humidity controlled, etc.)
A joined session on fracture in harsh environments (symposium ‘Micro- and
nanomechanical testing in harsh environments’) is planned.
Interfaces constitute a key microstructural variable for tuning materials
behavior across a wide range of length scales from nano to macro in single and
multiphase systems. The advent of novel multi-phase/multi-interface
nanomaterials holds great potential for enabling unparalleled performance under
coupled extremes. Interfaces often dominate the material response in
nanostructured systems and produce unique combinations of properties that
derive from the physics of grain boundaries, phase boundaries, and/or
surfaces. A fundamental understanding of interfacial physics and coupled
phenomena impacting mechanical behavior is thus needed to harness new concepts
and methodologies in interface design for multifunctional performance.
This symposium aims to discuss interface physics that govern mechanical
behavior and coupled phenomena in interfacially-driven multifunctionality in
both single and multiphase materials. Talks are solicited that cover
fabrication, characterization, and modeling of materials with deliberately
designed interfaces with particular emphasis on new insights into fundamental
mechanisms, analysis of defects, and their implications for multifunctional
performance. Abstracts on recent developments in mechanical testing techniques
(e.g., in situ straining in TEM, micropillar testing, etc) and in high-fidelity
modeling techniques (e.g., ab initio, molecular dynamics, etc) are also
solicited. Topics of interest include, but are not necessarily limited to:
-Influence of interface structure and chemistry on deformation mechanisms
-Mechanical behavior of low dimensional materials (e.g., thin films, nanowires,
nanotubes, and nanoparticles)
-Physics of phase boundaries in multiphase systems, such as
crystalline-amorphous composites, nanolaminates, nanoparticle/matrix
composites, and nanoporous materials
-Mechanical behavior of grain boundary engineered nanomaterials (e.g. solute
stabilization, grain boundary complexion formation, duplex and gradient
nanostructures)
-Micro, meso, and macroscale modeling of deformation processes and coupled
phenomena as they relate to interface physics
-In situ testing methodologies for investigating mechanical behavior and
coupled extremes such as mechanical and irradiation of small volumes of
material
Most materials are exposed to an environment different than that found in
laboratory conditions, and it has been recognized that a material’s properties
change based on the environment to which it is exposed. Therefore,
understanding the mechanisms by which a material’s properties change in harsh
environments (e.g. high and low temperatures, high strain rate deformation, and
corrosive agents) and under non-ambient conditions is key to understanding
materials behavior in service conditions.
Micro- and nanoscale materials testing has been often utilized for a deeper
understanding of the basic phenomena of materials degradation and behavior. An
obvious next step is to expand these valuable measurements to the environments
that materials are exposed to during service conditions in order to study the
synergistic effects between harsh environments and materials property
degradation on the nanoscale. The harsh environments materials experience can
have a direct impact on the performance of nano-devices and nano-enabled energy
systems in many different applications.
Topics include:
- Nanoindentation and micromechanical testing at non-ambient conditions
- Small scale mechanical behavior under harsh environments and/or dynamic
loading conditions
- New approaches for reliable testing at elevated and low temperatures
- Accelerated testing techniques
- In-situ electrochemical loading during micromechanical testing
In 1951, Waloddi Weibull published a single-author paper describing a new
statistical distribution “of wide applicability” in the Journal of Applied
Mechanics. The very next year in the same journal, Max Williams published a
single-author paper describing an analytic stress singularity that has become
the foundation of linear elastic fracture mechanics. The Weibull distribution
provides a stress-based method for assessing the statistics of failure whereas
the Williams singularity provides a deterministic description of the stress
field at a crack tip that drives fracture. While the two approaches are quite
different, they both continue to be profoundly useful for engineering design.
The symposium will focus on application of these methods to materials science,
the limitations of these methods and nuance that has been unearthed after 65
years of use. How have these methods assisted in the development of improved
engineering materials and more reliable engineered structures? What recent
analysis methods for material failure might have a similar impact 65 years from
now? Why is recent research not as readily adopted by broad engineering
practice? What are the current generational challenges in fracture and
material failure?
Understanding the mechanics of materials in small volumes is of fundamental
importance because it simultaneously allows for the exploration of new
properties at the smallest of length scales as well as provides a basis for
understanding multiscale phenomena that originate at these lengthscales. This
symposium will focus on the mechanical properties of small-volume and
low-dimensional materials, as well as bulk materials that are comprised of or
are aggregates of these materials including bulk nanostructured materials and
nanoscale based heirarchical materials. Of particular interest are studies
that discuss sample size effects, applications of nanoscale mechanical testing
and the associated characterization, as well as modeling that addresses the
mechanical properties of these materials. Properties of interest include, but
are not limited to: elasticity, strength, plastic flow, fatigue, and fracture
with material systems ranging from hard materials, including metals and
ceramics, to soft and biological materials.
Topics will include:
- Size effects on elasticity, strength, plastic flow, fracture and fatigue in
low dimensional materials including nanopillars, nanowires, nanoparticles, thin
films, multilayered materials, graded materials, and architecture-designed
materials.
- Changes in deformation types or patterns due to changes in scale including
those due to size affected phase transformations, changes in density and types
of interfaces, as well as available deformation sources.
- Ex-situ and in-situ (SEM, TEM, XRD, neutron, etc.) mechanical
characterization methods.
- Modeling and simulation at all scales, as well as coupled scale modeling, of
mechanical behavior of nanostructured materials
- Confinement and size effects in glasses and disordered media.
- Small scale mechanics of soft matter: polymers, and biomaterials (e.g
collagen, chitin, and keratin, as well as other organic materials).
This is the tenth international symposium that focuses on all aspects of the
science and technology of ultrafine grained (UFG) and nanocrystalline
materials. This symposium covers a broad scope, ranging from fundamental
science to applications of bulk ultrafine-grained (grain size <1000 nm) and
nanostructured (feature size <100 nm) materials. It provides a forum on the
topics of fabrication and understanding of UFG and nanocrystalline materials
including conventional and emerging technologies and advancements, fundamental
issues in severe plastic deformation (SPD) processing and SPD-processed
materials, UFG and nanocrystalline microstructure evolution, mechanical and
physical properties, deformation mechanisms, superplasticity, joining and
bonding, computational and analytical modeling, structural and functional
applications, etc. Other emerging topics to be covered include gradient and
layered nanostructures, vapor-phase processing, powder processing,
rapid-solidification methods, bio-inspired nanomaterials, and radiation
tolerant nanomaterials. Also, in honor of the 10th iteration of this
symposium, we will hold a “Pioneers of Ultrafine Grained Materials” session
that will highlight the contributions of the superheroes of this field.
Awards: UFG X will be hosting a Young Scientist Session for students or
post-docs within three years of receiving their Ph.D. There will be up to two
Gold Medals and three Silver Medals for best oral presentation. Awards will
also be given for best poster (One Gold Medal and two Silver Medals). A
committee that includes the symposium organizers and invited speakers will
decide the awards. Each medalist will receive a certificate, and may receive a
cash prize, depending on resources available.