This paper presents the results of recent studies of cyclic micro-bending and plasticity length scales in LIGA Ni micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS). First, size effects due to single micro-bends are analyzed within the context of the phenomenological strain gradient plasticity theory of Fleck and Hutchinson [1]. The evolution of cyclic deformation is then studied by performing fully reversed cyclic micro-bend experiments that provide insights into cyclic stress/strain evolution, back stress effects and cyclic failure phenomena. The implications of the results are then discussed for the analysis of plasticity and cyclic deformation in micro-scale systems.
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