Students' Struggles to Explain the Atomic Behavior of Metals in a Tensile Test Lab Supported by a Molecular Dynamics Simulation

摘要

This pilot study was designed to explore students' misconceptions concerning the atomic mechanisms of plastic deformation within the context of a laboratory exercise. Sophomore materials engineering students performed, analyzed, and compared results from both a traditional tensile test of metals and a molecular dynamics simulation tensile test of a nanowire. The latter was performed using the Nano-Materials Simulation Toolkit on nanoHUB.org. Students' responses to in-lab worksheet questions, their written lab reports, and their responses to a related exam question were qualitatively analyzed. Recommendations are made for better integration of the simulation and traditional tensile test components of the lab.