Mesoplasticity and its applications in micro-scale deformation processing

In micro-scale, mechanical fabrication manufacturing, the size of the deformation zone approaches the grain size of the workpiece materials and the mechanics cannot be adequately described by the macroscopic theory of plasticity. Mesoplasticity represents an important connection between the continuum based macroplasticity and the atomic physical theory of plasticity. In this paper, the methodology of mesoplasticity is highlighted and two examples of applications, with one in micro-sheet metal forming and one in micro-machining. The analysis demonstrates the strong grain orientation dependency of the workability of materials in micro-scale deformation processes.