Z. Zhang, Q. Yan, Y. Zhang, H. Wang, Z. Tong, X. Jiang
Tribology International 200 (2024) 110112

Abstract. Nanoindentation has been widely used to access the micro-/nanomechanical properties of materials. However, the contribution of micro-texture evolution to the anisotropic surface topography, the correlation of dislocation density characteristics with the orientation-dependent plastic volume, and the specifics of inherent slip activities, are still not fully elucidated up to now.Herein, nanoindentation simulations were performed on (001)-, (101)- and (111)-oriented single-crystal aluminium. Dominant slip systems are exactly determined for each surface pile-up for the first time. Moreover, lattice rotation facilitates the formation of pile-ups. The anisotropic plastic volume is controlled by the preference of intrinsic dislocation movement. In (001) sample, dislocations prefer to propagate along the free surface instead of into the depth of the sample, causing its most obvious pile-ups.

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Supported by UK’s EPSRC Future Metrology Hub [grant number: EP/P006930/1], the UK’s STFC Innovation Partnership Scheme (STFC-IPS) project [grant number: ST/V001280/1], the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [grant number: 767589], the China Scholarship Council (CSC) [grant number: 201806220092], and Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Funds [grant numbers: A8001225–00-00 and MOE-T2EP50220–0010].