The stresses in a face-centered cubic single crystal under uniaxial tension

Finite element method (FEM) analysis was employed to examined the effect of end constraints on elastic and elasto-plastic stress and strain nonuniformities which develop in Cu single crystals. When no end constraints are applied, stresses are uniformly distributed throughout the specimen. Under end constraints, nonuniformities develop which can extend over considerable portions of the specimen and are strongly dependent on the ratio of diameter to length and on orientation. Results indicate that stress and strain nonuniformities are likely to be most significant for fatigue testing of single crystals.