The mechanisms of deformation at small length scales have been a topic of intense interest over the last years, as plasticity at the nanoscale can be remarkably different from conventional plasticity, yet the vast majority of research has targeted quasi-static deformation. This symposium intends to shift this focus towards cyclic deformation, fracture and fatigue of nanoscale materials, including nanocrystalline or other low dimensional systems. We welcome contributions that focus on the use of advanced experimental techniques, such as quantitative in situ/in operando TEM, non-ambient nanoindentation, in situ X-ray diffraction approaches, or advanced simulation methods, to unravel the elemental mechanisms governing cyclic plastic deformation, failure and fracture mechanisms at small length scales.

The topics to be covered include cyclic plasticity, toughening mechanisms and failure of small-scale objects, such as pillars, particles or wires, bulk nanocrystalline or hierarchical materials, or nanolayered films, studied by the aforementioned methods. Moreover, novel developments for dynamic in situ testing techniques are welcome. Contributions that address mechanical modeling and atomistic simulation aspects are also solicited, with emphasis on mechanisms that influence cyclic plasticity and fracture at small scales and simulation and theory approaches that bridge time scales.