Jones Seminar: Exploring the Unusual World of Small-Scale Mechanical Behavior with Nanoindentation

Optional ZOOM LINK
Meeting ID: 957 1080 9721
Passcode: 755260

Since its development in the mid-1980's, nanoindentation has proven to be an important tool for exploring and characterizing the small-scale strength and mechanical behavior of a wide variety of materials. Some of these are quite unusual, either because the materials themselves are out-of-the-ordinary or because their mechanical behavior at the micro- and nano-scales is different from that of the bulk. For example, small pillars of pure metals with diameters of approximately one micrometer can have strengths 10 to 100 times greater than their macroscopic counterparts.

In this presentation, a series of examples is used to illustrate some of the unusual mechanical behavior observed at small scales along with the scientific reasons for them. The examples are taken from a diverse set of disciplines including materials science, biology, geology, and medicine, all of which have benefited enormously from recent advances in nanomechanical testing.

Hosted by Professor Ian Baker.

About the Speaker(s)

George Pharr
Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M

George M. Pharr is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Erle Nye '59 Chair I at Texas A&M University, College Station TX. He received his BS in mechanical engineering at Rice University and his PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford. After postdoctoral study at the University of Cambridge, he returned to Rice as a member of the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science faculty. He moved to the University of Tennessee (UT) in 1998, and to Texas A&M in 2017. While at UT, he served as Head of the Materials Science and Engineering Department and held a joint faculty appointment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Pharr is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of three professional societies: TMS, ASM International, and MRS. He has served as an editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society and the Journal of Materials Research. His research focuses on the mechanisms of plasticity and fracture in solids, especially at small scales.

Contact

For more information, contact Amos Johnson at amos.l.johnson@dartmouth.edu.