Mechanical testing via dominant shear deformation of small-sized specimen

We report on the miniaturization of a recently introduced novel specimen geometry, the so-called shear compression specimen (SCS). The SCS consists of a cylinder- or beam-shaped geometry in which two diametrically opposed slots are machined at 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis to form the test gauge section. The miniaturized SCS (m-SCS) were prepared by spark erosion and have a typical gauge width of 100 μm. Numerical analysis of the deformation behavior of the m-SCS shows that the dominant deformation mode in the gauge section is shear and stresses and strains are rather uniform. The m-SCS was validated by comparing results obtained from m-SCS testing with those received from standardized tension testing. Shear deformation of nanocrystalline metals beyond 10% strain has been demonstrated. The m-SCS seems to have the potential to emerge as a versatile tool for studying the plasticity of nanocrystalline and glassy materials.