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The mechanical properties of metallic nanostructures are governed not only by topology but also by crystal symmetry and face-specific surface physics, which are typically absent from continuum topology optimization. We develop an…
This paper focuses on the development of the atomistic framework for determining the lower scale mechanical parameters of single components of a metal matrix composite for final application to a micromechanical damage model. Here, the…
The fracture toughness of Al/SiC nanolaminates with different layer thicknesses (in the range 10 to 100 nm) was measured by means of micropillar splitting and bending of a notched beam. The crack plane was perpendicular to the layers in the…
Theoretical analyses and experiments have been carried out to investigate fracture behavior of glassy polymers. Our birefringence measurements quantify the local stress buildup at cut tip during different stages of drawing. Based on…
Understanding, predicting and eventually improving the resistance to fracture of silicate materials is of primary importance to design new glasses that would be tougher, while retaining their transparency. However, the atomic mechanism of…
This paper investigates the effects of plasticity on the effective fracture toughness. A layered material is considered as a modelling system. An elastic-plastic phase-field model and a surfing boundary condition are used to study how the…
Soft composite solids are made of inclusions dispersed within soft matrices. They are ubiquitous in nature and form the basis of many biological tissues. In the field of materials science, synthetic soft composites are promising candidates…
Fracture toughness is a critical mechanical property of glasses, but a detailed understanding of its link to composition and structure is still missing. Here, focusing on the industrially important family of calcium aluminosilicate glasses,…
In this paper, we present a 2D numerical model developed to simulate the dynamics of soft, deformable particles. To accommodate significant particle deformations, the particle surface is represented as a narrow shell composed of mass points…
Predicting the structural response of advanced multiphase alloys and understanding the underlying microscopic mechanisms that are responsible for it are two critically important roles modeling plays in alloy development. An alloys…
Ceramics are easy to break, and very few generic mechanisms are available for improving their mechanical properties, e.g., the 1975-discovered anti-fracture mechanism is strictly limited to zirconia and hafnia. Here we report a general…
Plasticity in soft amorphous materials typically involves collective deformation patterns that emerge upon intense shearing. The microscopic basis of amorphous plasticity has been commonly established through the notion of "Eshelby"-type…
The fracture of carbon nanotubes is studied by atomistic simulations. The fracture behavior is found to be almost independent of the separation energy and to depend primarily on the inflection point in the interatomic potential. The rangle…
The lifetime and performance of any engineering component, from nanoscale sensors to macroscopic structures, are strongly influenced by fracture processes. Fracture itself is a highly localized event; originating at the atomic scale by bond…
An atomistic model of near-crack-tip plasticity on a square lattice under anti-plane shear kinematics is formulated and studied. The model is based upon a new geometric and functional framework of a lattice manifold complex, which ensures…
Aluminum alloys, the most widely utilized lightweight structural materials, predominantly depend on coherent complex-structured nano-plates to enhance their mechanical properties. Despite several decades of research, the atomic-scale…
Predicting the mechanical failure of parts in service requires understanding their deformation behavior, and associated dynamic microstructural evolution up to the near-atomic scale. Solutes are known to interact with defects generated by…
We study the effect of atomic scale surface-lubricant interactions on nanoscale boundary-lubricated friction, by considering two example surfaces - hydrophilic mica and hydrophobic graphene - confining thin layers of water in molecular…
We perform fracture experiments on nanoscale phase separated glasses and measure crack surface roughness by atomic force microscopy. The ability of tuning the phase domain size by thermal treatment allows us to test thoroughly the…
Understanding the fracture toughness (resistance) of glasses is a fundamental problem of prime theoretical and practical importance. Here we theoretically study its dependence on the loading rate, the age (history) of the glass and the…