An Iterative FEA Scheme for Analysis of Micro-Pillar Compression Test

In this study, we propose an interesting scheme for analyzing micro-pillar compression test results based on finite element method. It uses only load and displacement data measured by micro-pillar compression test, a framework of conventional incremental metal plasticity, and an iterative scheme for updating the material parameters. This is an inverse approach to determine the constitutive relation of materials based on experimentally measured load and displacement. As a demonstrative example, Ni-Co micro-pillars with a diameter of 10 ㎛ and a height of 20 ㎛ were fabricated by micro-machining process, and their load-displacement data were measured by a micro-pillar compression tester. Using the proposed scheme and the measured load-displacement data, the stress-strain curves for the Ni-Co micro-pillars were estimated.