Deformation and failure mechanisms in materials become size-dependent when sample dimensions and/or microstructures approach the sub-micrometer regime. Size effects include the increase in strength of nanopillars and nanowires, the rise in hardness and change in flow stress of nanocrystalline materials and multilayer thin films, or the improved fatigue lifetime found in studies of thin metallic films as well as materials that approach their theoretical strength. However, size effects can also manifest themselves as changes in deformation mechanisms such as a transition from plastic flow to fracture and vice versa.

This symposium will focus on the interplay between microstructural and deformation length-scales in inorganic materials. The goal of this symposium is to discuss the fundamental principles and deformation mechanisms leading to size effects in the mechanical behavior of materials and structures in terms of strength and plastic flow behavior. Experimental contributions but also closely related modeling or simulation papers of small-scale mechanical deformation are encouraged.