A new criterion for elasto-plastic transition in nanomaterials: Application to size and composite effects on Cu–Nb nanocomposite wires

Abstract Nanocomposite wires composed of a multi-scale Cu matrix embedding Nb nanotubes are cyclically deformed in tension under synchrotron radiation in order to follow the X-ray peak profiles (position and width) during mechanical testing. The evolution of elastic strains vs. applied stress suggests the presence of phase-specific elasto-plastic regimes. The nature of the elasto-plastic transition is uncovered by the “tangent modulus” analysis and correlated to the microstructure of the Cu channels and the Nb nanotubes. Finally, a new criterion for the determination of the macroyield stress is given as the stress to which the macroscopic work hardening, θ a  = d σ a /d e 0 , becomes smaller than one third of the macroscopic elastic modulus.