Finding and Characterising Active Slip Systems: A Short Review and Tutorial with Automation Tools

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Mechanical properties of hard phases significantly influence material behavior.
• Studying plasticity of small, brittle hard phases is challenging due to lack of bulk ductility.
• Small-scale testing methods are crucial for investigating deformation mechanisms in complex crystal structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive tutorial on characterizing plasticity in hard and anisotropic crystals.
• To guide researchers in data collection, analysis, and interpretation for nanomechanical testing.
• To establish best practices for studying deformation mechanisms in novel materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilizes nanomechanical testing techniques, including nanoindentation and microcompression.
• Integrates electron microscopy for imaging and orientation measurements to interpret mechanical data.
• Provides computational tools and code for efficient data analysis.

Main Results:

• Demonstrates the application of methods to discover slip systems and deformation mechanisms in intermetallics like the Fe7Mo6 μ-phase.
• Highlights challenges in determining slip planes for complex crystal structures.
• Identifies best practices through comparison with existing literature.

Conclusions:

• Small-scale testing, coupled with advanced imaging and data analysis, is effective for studying hard crystal plasticity.
• The tutorial and provided code facilitate efficient research for new scientists in the field.
• Establishes a framework for applying these methods to diverse material systems.