arXiv subjects

Markus Ovaska

Publications and source records attributed to Markus Ovaska.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Propagating bands of plastic deformation in a metal alloy as critical avalanches

The plastic deformation of metal alloys localizes in the Portevin--Le Chatelier effect in bands of different types, including propagating, or type 'A' bands, usually characterised by their width and a typical propagation velocity. This plastic instability arises from collective dynamics of dislocations interacting with mobile solute atoms but the resulting sensitivity to the strain-rate lacks fundamental understanding. Here we show, by employing high-resolution imaging in tensile deformation experiments of an aluminum alloy, that the band velocities exhibit large fluctuations. Each band produces a velocity signal reminiscent of crackling noise bursts observed in numerous driven avalanching systems from propagating cracks in fracture to the Barkhausen effect in ferromagnets. The statistical features of these velocity bursts including their average shapes and size distributions obey predictions of a simple mean-field model of critical avalanche dynamics. Our results thus reveal a novel paradigm of criticality in the localization of deformation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Excitation spectra in crystal plasticity

Plastically deforming crystals exhibit scale-free fluctuations that are similar to those observed in driven disordered elastic systems close to depinning, but the nature of the yielding critical point is still debated. Here, we study the marginal stability of ensembles of dislocations and compute their excitation spectrum in two and three dimensions. Our results show the presence of a singularity in the distribution of {\it excitation stresses}, i.e., the stress needed to make a localized region unstable, that is remarkably similar to the one measured in amorphous plasticity and spin glasses. These results allow us to understand recent observations of extended criticality in bursty crystal plasticity and explain how they originate from the presence of a pseudogap in the excitation spectrum.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Deformation and fracture of echinoderm collagen networks

Collagen networks provide the main structural component of most tissues and represent an important ingredient for bio-mimetic materials for bio-medical applications. Here we study the mechanical properties of stiff collagen networks derived from three different echinoderms and show that they exhibit non-linear stiffening followed by brittle fracture. The disordered nature of the network leads to strong sample-to-sample fluctuations in elasticity and fracture strength. We perform numerical simulations of a three dimensional model for the deformation of a cross-linked elastic fibril network which is able to reproduce the macroscopic features of the experimental results and provide insights into the internal mechanics of stiff collagen networks. Our numerical model provides an avenue for the design of collagen membranes with tunable mechanical properties.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2015

Avalanches in wood compression

Wood is a multi-scale material exhibiting a complex viscoplastic response. We study avalanches in small wood samples in compression. "Woodquakes" measured by acoustic emission are surprisingly similar to earthquakes and crackling noise in rocks and laboratory tests on brittle materials. Both the distributions of event energies and of waiting (silent) times follow power-laws. The stress- strain response exhibits clear signatures of localization of deformation to "weak spots" or softwood layers, as identified using Digital Image Correlation. Even though material structure-dependent localization takes place, the avalanche behavior remains scale-free.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Quenched pinning and collective dislocation dynamics

Several experiments show that crystalline solids deform in a bursty and intermittent fashion. Power-law distributed strain bursts in compression experiments of micron-sized samples, and acoustic emission energies from larger-scale specimens, are the key signatures of the underlying critical-like collective dislocation dynamics - a phenomenon that has also been seen in discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations. Here we show, by performing large-scale two-dimensional DDD simulations, that the character of the dislocation avalanche dynamics changes upon addition of sufficiently strong randomly distributed quenched pinning centres, present e.g. in many alloys as immobile solute atoms. For intermediate pinning strength, our results adhere to the scaling picture of depinning transitions, in contrast to pure systems where dislocation jamming dominates the avalanche dynamics. Still stronger disorder quenches the critical behaviour entirely.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗