Fracture and second-order phase transitions

Y. Moreno; J. B. Gomez; A. F. Pacheco

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.85.2865

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arXiv · cond-mat/0008122

Fracture and second-order phase transitions

Y. Moreno·J. B. Gomez·A. F. Pacheco

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Abstract

Using the global fiber bundle model as a tractable scheme of progressive fracture in heterogeneous materials, we define the branching ratio in avalanches as a suitable order parameter to clarify the order of the phase transition occurring at the collapse of the system. The model is analyzed using a probabilistic approach suited to smooth fluctuations. The branching ratio shows a behavior analogous to the magnetization in known magnetic systems with 2nd-order phase transitions. We obtain a universal critical exponent $β\approx 0.5$ independent of the probability distribution used to assign the strengths of individual fibers.

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BibTeX RIS

Y. Moreno, J. B. Gomez, A. F. Pacheco. 2000-08-08. Fracture and second-order phase transitions. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.85.2865

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