arXiv subjects

F. Kun

Publications and source records attributed to F. Kun.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Scaling laws of failure dynamics on complex networks

The topology of the network of load transmitting connections plays an essential role in the cascading failure dynamics of complex systems driven by the redistribution of load after local breakdown events. In particular, as the network structure is gradually tuned from regular to completely random a transition occurs from the localized to mean field behavior of failure spreading. Based on finite size scaling in the fiber bundle model of failure phenomena, here we demonstrate that outside the localized regime, the load bearing capacity and damage tolerance on the macro-scale, and the statistics of clusters of failed nodes on the micro-scale obey scaling laws with exponents which depend on the topology of the load transmission network and on the degree of disorder of the strength of nodes. Most notably, we show that the spatial structure of damage governs the emergence of the localized to mean field transition: as the network gets gradually randomized failed clusters formed on locally regular patches merge through long range links generating a percolation like transition which reduces the load concentration on the network. The results may help to design network structures with an improved robustness against cascading failure.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2014

Approach to failure in porous granular materials under compression

We investigate the approach to catastrophic failure in a model porous granular material undergoing uniaxial compression. A discrete element computational model is used to simulate both the micro-structure of the material and the complex dynamics and feedbacks involved in local fracturing and the production of crackling noise. Under strain-controlled loading micro-cracks initially nucleate in an uncorrelated way all over the sample. As loading proceeds the damage localizes into a narrow damage band inclined at 30-45 degrees to the load direction. Inside the damage band the material is crushed into a poorly-sorted mixture of mainly fine powder hosting some larger fragments. The mass probability density distribution of particles in the damage zone is a power law of exponent 2.1, similar to a value of 1.87 inferred from observations of the length distribution of wear products (gouge) in natural and laboratory faults. Dynamic bursts of radiated energy, analogous to acoustic emissions observed in laboratory experiments on porous sedimentary rocks, are identified as correlated trails or cascades of local ruptures that emerge from the stress redistribution process. As the system approaches macroscopic failure consecutive bursts become progressively more correlated. Their size distribution is also a power law, with an equivalent Gutenberg-Richter b-value of 1.22 averaged over the whole test, ranging from 3 down to 0.5 at the time of failure, all similar to those observed in laboratory tests on granular sandstone samples. The formation of the damage band itself is marked by a decrease in the average distance between consecutive bursts and an emergent power law correlation integral of event locations with a correlation dimension of 2.55, also similar to those observed in the laboratory (between 2.75 and 2.25).

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2014

Rupture cascades in a discrete element model of a porous sedimentary rock

We investigate the scaling properties of the sources of crackling noise in a fully-dynamic numerical model of sedimentary rocks subject to uniaxial compression. The model is initiated by filling a cylindrical container with randomly-sized spherical particles which are then connected by breakable beams. Loading at a constant strain rate the cohesive elements fail and the resulting stress transfer produces sudden bursts of correlated failures, directly analogous to the sources of acoustic emissions in real experiments. The source size, energy, and duration can all be quantified for an individual event, and the population analyzed for their scaling properties, including the distribution of waiting times between consecutive events. Despite the non-stationary loading, the results are all characterized by power law distributions over a broad range of scales in agreement with experiments. As failure is approached temporal correlation of events emerge accompanied by spatial clustering.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2013

Brittle to Ductile Transition in a Fiber Bundle with Strong Heterogeneity

We analyze the failure process of a two-component system with widely different fracture strength in the framework of a fiber bundle model with localized load sharing. A fraction 0\leq α\leq 1 of the bundle is strong and it is represented by unbreakable fibers, while fibers of the weak component have randomly distributed failure strength. Computer simulations revealed that there exists a critical composition α_c which separates two qualitatively different behaviors: below the critical point the failure of the bundle is brittle characterized by an abrupt damage growth within the breakable part of the system. Above α_c, however, the macroscopic response becomes ductile providing stability during the entire breaking process. The transition occurs at an astonishingly low fraction of strong fibers which can have importance for applications. We show that in the ductile phase the size distribution of breaking bursts has a power law functional form with an exponent μ=2 followed by an exponential cutoff. In the brittle phase the power law also prevails but with a higher exponent μ=9/2. The transition between the two phases shows analogies to continuous phase transitions. Analyzing the microstructure of the damage, it was found that at the beginning of the fracture process cracks nucleate randomly, while later on growth and coalescence of cracks dominate which give rise to power law distributed crack sizes.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2011

Micro-structure of damage in thermally activated fracture of Lennard-Jones systems

We investigate the effect of thermal fluctuations on the critical stress and the micro-structure of damage preceding macroscopic fracture of Lennard-Jones solids under a constant external load. Based on molecular dynamics simulations of notched specimens at finite temperature, we show that the crystalline structure gets distorted ahead of the crack in the secondary creep regime. The damage profile characterizing the spatial distribution of lattice distortions is well described by an exponential form. The characteristic length of the exponential form provides the scale of damage which is found to be an increasing function of the temperature: At low temperature damage is strongly localized to the crack tip, while at high temperature damage extends to a broader range leading to more efficient relaxation of overloads. As a consequence, the stress intensity factor decreases with increasing temperature. The final macroscopic failure of the system occurs suddenly which is initiated by the creation of vacancies and voids. The creep strength exhibits the inverse square root scaling with the notch size corrected by the extension of the process zone.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2010

New universality class for the fragmentation of plastic materials

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the fragmentation of polymeric materials by impacting polypropylene particles of spherical shape against a hard wall. Experiments reveal a power law mass distribution of fragments with an exponent close to 1.2, which is significantly different from the known exponents of three-dimensional bulk materials. A 3D discrete element model is introduced which reproduces both the large permanent deformation of the polymer during impact, and the novel value of the mass distribution exponent. We demonstrate that the dominance of shear in the crack formation and the plastic response of the material are the key features which give rise to the emergence of the novel universality class of fragmentation phenomena.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2008

Universality class of fiber bundles with strong heterogeneities

We study the effect of strong heterogeneities on the fracture of disordered materials using a fiber bundle model. The bundle is composed of two subsets of fibers, i.e. a fraction 0<α<1 of fibers is unbreakable, while the remaining 1-αfraction is characterized by a distribution of breaking thresholds. Assuming global load sharing, we show analytically that there exists a critical fraction of the components α_c which separates two qualitatively different regimes of the system: below α_c the burst size distribution is a power law with the usual exponent τ=5/2, while above α_c the exponent switches to a lower value τ=9/4 and a cutoff function occurs with a diverging characteristic size. Analyzing the macroscopic response of the system we demonstrate that the transition is conditioned to disorder distributions where the constitutive curve has a single maximum and an inflexion point defining a novel universality class of breakdown phenomena.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Universality behind Basquin's law of fatigue

One of the most important scaling laws of time dependent fracture is Basquin's law of fatigue, namely, that the lifetime of the system increases as a power law with decreasing external load amplitude, $t_f\sim σ_0^{-α}$, where the exponent $α$ has a strong material dependence. We show that in spite of the broad scatter of the Basquin exponent $α$, the fatigue fracture of heterogeneous materials exhibits intriguing universal features. Based on stochastic fracture models we propose a generic scaling form for the macroscopic deformation and show that at the fatigue limit the system undergoes a continuous phase transition when changing the external load. On the microlevel, the fatigue fracture proceeds in bursts characterized by universal power law distributions. We demonstrate that in a range of systems, including deformation of asphalt, a realistic model of deformation, and a fiber bundle model, the system dependent details are contained in Basquin's exponent for time to failure, and once this is taken into account, remaining features of failure are universal.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Fragmentation processes in impact of spheres

We study the brittle fragmentation of spheres by using a three-dimensional Discrete Element Model. Large scale computer simulations are performed with a model that consists of agglomerates of many particles, interconnected by beam-truss elements. We focus on the detailed development of the fragmentation process and study several fragmentation mechanisms. The evolution of meridional cracks is studied in detail. These cracks are found to initiate in the inside of the specimen with quasi-periodic angular distribution. The fragments that are formed when these cracks penetrate the specimen surface give a broad peak in the fragment mass distribution for large fragments that can be fitted by a two-parameter Weibull distribution. This mechanism can only be observed in 3D models or experiments. The results prove to be independent of the degree of disorder in the model. Our results significantly improve the understanding of the fragmentation process for impact fracture since besides reproducing the experimental observations of fragment shapes, impact energy dependence and mass distribution, we also have full access to the failure conditions and evolution.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2007

Continuous Damage Fiber Bundle Model for Strongly Disordered Materials

We present an extension of the continuous damage fiber bundle model to describe the gradual degradation of highly heterogeneous materials under an increasing external load. Breaking of a fiber in the model is preceded by a sequence of partial failure events occurring at random threshold values. In order to capture the subsequent propagation and arrest of cracks, furthermore, the disorder of the number of degradation steps of material constituents, the failure thresholds of single fibers are sorted into ascending order and their total number is a Poissonian distributed random variable over the fibers. Analytical and numerical calculations showed that the failure process of the system is governed by extreme value statistics, which has a substantial effect on the macroscopic constitutive behaviour and on the microscopic bursting activity as well.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Computer simulation of fatigue under diametrical compression

We study the fatigue fracture of disordered materials by means of computer simulations of a discrete element model. We extend a two-dimensional fracture model to capture the microscopic mechanisms relevant for fatigue, and we simulate the diametric compression of a disc shape specimen under a constant external force. The model allows to follow the development of the fracture process on the macro- and micro-level varying the relative influence of the mechanisms of damage accumulation over the load history and healing of microcracks. As a specific example we consider recent experimental results on the fatigue fracture of asphalt. Our numerical simulations show that for intermediate applied loads the lifetime of the specimen presents a power law behavior. Under the effect of healing, more prominent for small loads compared to the tensile strength of the material, the lifetime of the sample increases and a fatigue limit emerges below which no macroscopic failure occurs. The numerical results are in a good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2006

Damage and Healing in Fatigue Fracture

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the fatigue failure of asphalt under cyclic compression. Varying the load amplitude, experiments reveal a finite fatigue limit below which the specimen does not break, while approaching the tensile strength of the material a rapid failure occurs. In the intermediate load range, the lifetime decreases with the load as a power law. We introduce two novel theoretical approaches, namely, a fiber bundle model and a fuse model, and show that both capture the major microscopic mechanisms of the fatigue failure of asphalt, providing an excellent agreement with the experimental findings. Model calculations show that the competition of damage accumulation and healing of microcracks gives rise to novel scaling laws for fatigue failure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Failure process of a bundle of plastic fibers

We present an extension of fiber bundle models considering that failed fibers still carry a fraction $0 \leq α\leq 1$ of their failure load. The value of $α$ interpolates between the perfectly brittle failure $(α= 0)$ and perfectly plastic behavior $(α=1)$ of fibers. We show that the finite load bearing capacity of broken fibers has a substantial effect on the failure process of the bundle. In the case of global load sharing it is found that for $α\to 1$ the macroscopic response of the bundle becomes perfectly plastic with a yield stress equal to the average fiber strength. On the microlevel, the size distribution of avalanches has a crossover from a power law of exponent $\approx 2.5$ to a faster exponential decay. For localized load sharing, computer simulations revealed a sharp transition at a well defined value $α_c$ from a phase where macroscopic failure occurs due to localization as a consequence of local stress enhancements, to another one where the disordered fiber strength dominates the damage process. Analysing the microstructure of damage, the transition proved to be analogous to percolation. At the critical point $α_c$, the spanning cluster of damage is found to be compact with a fractal boundary. The distribution of bursts of fiber breakings shows a power law behaviour with a universal exponent $\approx 1.5$ equal to the mean field exponent of fiber bundles of critical strength distributions. The model can be relevant to understand the shear failure of glued interfaces where failed regions can still transmit load by remaining in contact.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2005

A simple beam model for the shear failure of interfaces

We propose a novel model for the shear failure of a glued interface between two solid blocks. We model the interface as an array of elastic beams which experience stretching and bending under shear load and break if the two deformation modes exceed randomly distributed breaking thresholds. The two breaking modes can be independent or combined in the form of a von Mises type breaking criterion. Assuming global load sharing following the beam breaking, we obtain analytically the macroscopic constitutive behavior of the system and describe the microscopic process of the progressive failure of the interface. We work out an efficient simulation technique which allows for the study of large systems. The limiting case of very localized interaction of surface elements is explored by computer simulations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Scaling behavior of fragment shapes

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the shape of fragments generated by explosive and impact loading of closed shells. Based on high speed imaging, we have determined the fragmentation mechanism of shells. Experiments have shown that the fragments vary from completely isotropic to highly anisotropic elongated shapes, depending on the microscopic cracking mechanism of the shell-material. Anisotropic fragments proved to have self-affine character described by a scaling exponent. The distribution of fragment shapes exhibits a power law decay. The robustness of the scaling laws is illustrated by a stochastic hierarchical model of fragmentation. Our results provide a possible improvement of the representation of fragment shapes in models of space debris.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2004

Break-up of shells under explosion and impact

A theoretical and experimental study of the fragmentation of closed thin shells made of a disordered brittle material is presented. Experiments were performed on brown and white hen egg-shells under two different loading conditions: fragmentation due to an impact with a hard wall and explosion by a combustion mixture giving rise to power law fragment size distributions. For the theoretical investigations a three-dimensional discrete element model of shells is constructed. Molecular dynamics simulations of the two loading cases resulted in power law fragment mass distributions in satisfactory agreement with experiments. Based on large scale simulations we give evidence that power law distributions arise due to an underlying phase transition which proved to be abrupt and continuous for explosion and impact, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the fragmentation of closed shells defines a universality class different from that of two- and three-dimensional bulk systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1997

Internal Anisotropy of Collision Cascades

We investigate the internal anisotropy of collision cascades arising from the branching structure. We show that the global fractal dimension cannot give an adequate description of the geometrical structure of cascades because it is insensitive to the internal anisotropy. In order to give a more elaborate description we introduce an angular correlation function, which takes into account the direction of the local growth of the branches of the cascades. It is demonstrated that the angular correlation function gives a quantitative description of the directionality and the interrelation of branches. The power law decay of the angular correlation is evidenced and characterized by an exponent and an angular correlation length different from the radius of gyration. It is demonstrated that the overlapping of subcascades has a strong effect on the angular correlation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1996

Fragmentation of Colliding Discs

We study the phenomena associated with the low-velocity impact of two solid discs of equal size using a cell model of brittle solids. The fragment ejection exhibits a jet-like structure the direction of which depends on the impact parameter. We obtain the velocity and the mass distribution of the debris. Varying the radius and the initial velocity of the colliding particles, the velocity components of the fragments show anomalous scaling. The mass distribution follows a power law in the region of intermediate masses.

cond-mat↗