Size-dependent mechanical behavior and boundary layer effects in entangled metallic wire material systems

This paper describes the influence on the compressive and dissipative behavior of entangled metallic wire material (EMWM) samples provided by their size and mutual connectivity. The mechanical properties of EMWM specimens with different thicknesses are obtained from quasi-static compressive and cyclic loading. The behavior of the stress–strain curves, tangent modulus, and loss factor are strongly dependent on the thickness of the samples. The analysis from samples connected in different layouts shows that apart from the global thickness, size scale effects and contact interface also play important roles in controlling the behavior of EMWM systems. The importance of the sample size and its connectivity with adjacent different layers are defined by the unique microstructure and contact properties of the wires near the specimen boundary layer. The boundary layer produces different mechanical behaviors and a distinct structural configuration compared to the EMWM bulk solid. These peculiar characteristics are confirmed by microstructural and qualitative observations obtained from computed tomography scanning. The results and analysis presented in this work are relevant to designing EMWM material systems with adaptive performance under different loading and geometric constraints.