Elastic properties of SiC nanoscopic wires

Mechanical properties of crystalline and amorphous SiC nanowires have been investigated using molecular dynamics simulations with the Tersoff bond-order interatomic potential. The crystalline and a-SiC nanowires of different diameters were studied under tension/compression, torsion, and bending. The bending and torsion rigidities are found to be strongly dependent on the wire size. This is unlike the Young's modulus computed from uniaxial loading curves. Atomistic relaxations effects near the thresholds of structural stability are investigated for the four employed load types. The mechanical properties of crystalline SiC nanowires are compared with a-SiC wires of the same radii.