Evaluation of micro-pillar compression tests for accurate determination of elastic-plastic constitutive relations

The micro-pillar compression test is emerging as a novel way to measure the mechanical properties of materials. In this paper, we systematically conducted finite element analysis to evaluate the capability of using a micro-compression test to probe the mechanical properties of both elastic and plastic materials. We found that this test can provide an alternative way to accurately and robustly measure strain, and to some extent, stress. Therefore, this test can be used to measure some strain related quantities, such as strain to failure, or the stress-strain relations for plastic materials.