Analysis of Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of Gold Nanowire by Using Molecular Dynamics Method

With the increasing growth and development of Nano science and nanotechnology, applications of the Nano-sensors, Nano-electro-mechanical systems, Nano-electric systems and Nano-photonic devices is rising day-by-day. Nanowires, as one of the key components of these systems, play a significant role in their proper function. Therefore, recognition of the thermo-mechanical behavior of nanowires has a particular importance. Due to the inevitable problems in conducting empirical experiments on nanowires, including the need for highly precise and advanced equipment, as well as the high cost and time needed to carry out these experiments, a number of researchers have simulated the behavior of nanowires. Molecular dynamics simulation is one of the best methods for recognizing the properties of nanowires, which is used in most nano-scale simulations. By using simulation and modeling methods, nanowires properties can be studied at a very low cost and short time, in comparison with experimental methods. In this paper, the effect of temperature (300, 450, 600 and 700 ◦K) and strain rate (2×108, 2×109 and 2×1010 1/s) on the mechanical properties of a gold nanowire (with diameter and length of 3 and 6 nanometers, respectively) such as stress-strain curve, yield stress, stress at failure moment, and the magnitude of nanowire elongation by molecular dynamics method have been investigated to determine the thermo-mechanical behavior of the gold nanowire.