Fracture Mechanics

Cracking is the process of generating new surface area by splitting the material apart. The module matscipy.fracture_mechanics provides functionality for calculating continuum linear elastic displacement fields near crack tips, including support for anisotropy in the elastic response.

The module also implements generation of atomic structures that are deformed according to this near-tip field. This functionality has been used to quantify lattice trapping, which is the pinning of cracks due to the discreteness of the atomic lattice, and to compare simulations with experimental measurements of crack speeds in silicon. An example of this is provided in the quasi-static fracture tutorial linked below.

Finally, there is support for flexible boundary conditions in fracture simulations using the formalism proposed by Sinclair, where the finite atomistic domain is coupled to an infinite elastic continuum. We also provide an extension of this approach to give a flexible boundary scheme that uses numerical continuation to obtain full solution paths for cracks.

• Quasi static fracture simulations
  • Basic usage
    • Bulk and Elastic properties
    • Build crack system
    • Apply initial strain field