Predicting fracture in disordered network materials using the local intelligent stress threshold indicator

Communications Physics, vol. 8

Abstract

Abstract Network glass fracture occurs as a sequence of elementary events occurring at weak sites in the glass structure. Fracture is a highly complex process that occurs suddenly and without obvious structural or thermodynamic signs prior to the event’s occurrence. We show that a stress threshold value quantified by local mechanical probing highly correlates with nanoscale crack nucleation in a two-dimensional network glass. Subsequently, a neural network-based predictor, the local intelligent stress threshold indicator (LISTI), links the local stress threshold with the undeformed local structural topology. LISTI yields a reliable heatmap indicating soft spots that strongly correlate with the localized initiation and development of the fracture process. Finally, we show that LISTI can be used to find local zones prone to rearrangement in real-measured two-dimensional silica glass structures.

Authors 7

1. Bhagyashri Bachhav Aachen Institute of General Mechanics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of General Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

2. Zhao Wu Aachen Institute of General Mechanics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of General Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

3. Bernd A. Markert Aachen Institute of General Mechanics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of General Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

4. Benjamin Stamm

   University of Stuttgart

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Applied Analysis and Numerical Simulation, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

5. Michael D. Shields

   Johns Hopkins University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

6. Michael L. Falk

   Johns Hopkins University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

7. Franz Bamer corresponding Aachen Institute of General Mechanics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of General Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany