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Mechanical characterization of materials at small length scales

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Abstract

A review on the mechanical characterization of materials at small length scale is presented. The focus is on the different micro- and nanoscale testing techniques, the variety of materials investigated by the scientific and industrial communities and the mechanical quantities identified by such methodologies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Calabria, Ponte P. Bucci, 44C, 87036, Rende (CS), Italy

    Maria F. Pantano & Leonardo Pagnotta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois, 60208-3111, USA

    Horacio D. Espinosa

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Correspondence to Maria F. Pantano.

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This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Editor Maenghyo Cho

Maria F. Pantano. She was born in Italy. She received her B. S. degree and M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Calabria (Italy) in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Since 2009 she is a Ph.D student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Calabria. Her scientific interests include the mechanical characterization of materials at micro/nanoscale and design and modeling of microelectromechanical systems.

Horacio D. Espinosa. He is the James and Nancy Farley Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from Brown University, in 1992. He has made contributions in the areas of dynamic failure of advanced materials, micro and nanomechanics. He has published over 200 technical papers. Professor Espinosa is a member of the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Russian Academy of Engineering and Fellow of AAM, ASME, and SEM. His research interests are on biomimetics, size scale electro-mechanical properties of nanomaterials, NEMS, and the development of microdevices for single cell studies.

Leonardo Pagnotta. He is currently a full professor at the Faculty of Engineering at University of Calabria, Italy. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering at University of Calabria in 1984 and received his Ph.D in Mechanics of Materials from University of Pisa (Italy) in 1990. His research interests include mechanical behaviour of materials, experimental mechanics and mechanical engineering design.

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Pantano, M.F., Espinosa, H.D. & Pagnotta, L. Mechanical characterization of materials at small length scales. J Mech Sci Technol 26, 545–561 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-011-1214-1

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