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The Continuing Effort to Enhanced Learning of Mechanical Behavior of Materials via Combined Experiments and nanoHUB Simulations: Learning Modules for Sophomore MSE Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2016

Aisling Coughlan ,
Heidi A. Diefes-Dux ,
Kerrie A. Douglas ,
Tanya A. Faltens  and
David Johnson
Aisling Coughlan*
Affiliation:
School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A
Heidi A. Diefes-Dux
Affiliation:
School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A
Kerrie A. Douglas
Affiliation:
School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A
Tanya A. Faltens
Affiliation:
Network for Computational Nanotechnology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A
David Johnson
Affiliation:
School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A
*
*(Email: acoughla@purdue.edu)
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Abstract

This paper outlines updates to and evaluation of a learning module that incorporates a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation tool with a physical lab to introduce students to the atomic-level processes that are responsible for plastic deformation. Sophomore materials science and engineering (MSE) students at Purdue University get experience with both a physical laboratory, where they perform and analyze tensile tests of macroscopic samples, and a simulation laboratory, where they run and analyze MD simulations of tensile tests of metal nanowires. By integrating these two activities and discussing reasons for the large difference in yield stress, students may build an intuitive feel for how plastic deformation is linked across length scales

Keywords

educationnanostructuresimulation

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