Size-dependent yield strength of thin films

Biaxial strain and pure shear of a thin film are analysed using a strain gradient plasticity theory presented by Gudmundson [Gudmundson, P., 2004. A unified treatment of strain gradient plasticity. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 52, 1379-1406]. Constitutive equations are formulated based on the assumption that the free energy only depends on the elastic strain and that the dissipation is influenced by the plastic strain gradients. The three material length scale parameters controlling the gradient effects in a general case are here represented by a single one. Boundary conditions for plastic strains are formulated in terms of a surface energy that represents dislocation buildup at an elastic/plastic interface. This implies constrained plastic flow at the interface and it enables the simulation of interfaces with different constitutive properties. The surface energy is also controlled by a single length scale parameter, which together with the material length scale defines a particular material. Numerical results reveal that a boundary layer is developed in the film for both biaxial and shear loading, giving rise to size effects. The size effects are strongly connected to the buildup of surface energy at the interface. If the interface length scale is small, the size effect vanishes. For a stiffer interface, corresponding to a non-vanishing surface energy at the interface, the yield strength is found to scale with the inverse of film thickness. Numerical predictions by the theory are compared to different experimental data and to dislocation dynamics simulations. Estimates of material length scale parameters are presented. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.