Atomistic mechanisms of twin-twin interactions in Cu nanopillars

Abstract: Twinning is an important mode of plastic deformation in metallic nanopillars. When twinning occurs on multiple systems, it is possible that twins belonging to different twin systems interact and forms a complex twin-twin junctions. Revealing the atomistic mechanisms of how twin-twin interactions lead to different twin junctions is crucial for our understanding of mechanical behaviour of materials. In this paper, we report the atomistic mechanisms responsible for the formation of two different twin-twin interactions/junctions in Cu nanopillars using atomistic simulations. One junction contains two twin boundaries along with one $\Sigma$9 boundary, while the other contains five twin boundaries (five-fold twin). These junctions were observed during the tensile deformation of [100] and $[1\bar1 0]$ Cu nanopillars, respectively.