arXiv subjects

Robert Spatschek

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Spatschek.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Elastic energy driven multivariant selection in martensites via quantum annealing

We demonstrate the use of quantum annealing for the selection of multiple martensite variants in a microstructure with long-range coherency stresses and external mechanical load. The general approach is illustrated for martensites with four different variants, based on the minimization of the linear elastic energy. The equilibrium variant distribution is then analysed under application of tensile and shear strains and for different values of the considered shear and tetragonal contributions of the different martensite variants. The interface orientations between different domains of variants can be explained using the perspective of the elastic energy anisotropy for regular stripe patterns. For random grain orientations, the response to an external elastic strain is weaker and variants changes can be interpreted based on the rotated eigenstrain tensor.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Spatiotemporal dynamics of frictional systems: The interplay of interfacial friction and bulk elasticity

Frictional interfaces are abundant in natural and engineering systems, and predicting their behavior still poses challenges of prime scientific and technological importance. At the heart of these challenges lies the inherent coupling between the interfacial constitutive relation -- the macroscopic friction law -- and the bulk elasticity of the bodies that form the frictional interface. In this feature paper, we discuss the generic properties of the macroscopic friction law and the many ways in which its coupling to bulk elasticity gives rise to rich spatiotemporal frictional dynamics. We first present the widely used rate-and-state friction constitutive framework, discuss its power and limitations, and propose extensions that are supported by experimental data. We then discuss how bulk elasticity couples different parts of the interface, and how the range and nature of this interaction are affected by the system's geometry. Finally, in light of the coupling between interfacial and bulk physics, we discuss basic phenomena in spatially-extended frictional systems, including the stability of homogeneous sliding, the onset of sliding motion and a wide variety of propagating frictional modes (e.g. rupture fronts, healing fronts and slip pulses). Overall, the results presented and discussed in this feature paper highlight the inseparable roles played by interfacial and bulk physics in spatially-extended frictional systems.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Effect of shear-coupled grain boundary motion on coherent precipitation

We examine the interaction between precipitates and grain boundaries, which undergo shear-coupled motion. The elastic problem, emerging from grain boundary perturbations and an elastic mismatch strain induced by the precipitates, is analysed. The resulting free elastic energy contains interaction terms, which are derived numerically via the integration of the elastic energy density. The interaction of the shear-coupled grain boundary and the coherent precipitates leads to potential elastic energy reductions. Such a decrease of the elastic energy has implications on the grain boundary shape and also on the solubility limit near the grain boundary. By energy minimisation we are able to derive the grain boundary shape change analytically. We apply the results to the Fe-C system to predict the solubility limit change of cementite near an $α$-iron grain boundary.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Critical nucleation length for accelerating frictional slip

The spontaneous nucleation of accelerating slip along slowly driven frictional interfaces is central to a broad range of geophysical, physical and engineering systems, with particularly far-reaching implications for earthquake physics. A common approach to this problem associates nucleation with an instability of an expanding creep patch upon surpassing a critical length $L_c$. The critical nucleation length $L_c$ is conventionally obtained from a spring-block linear stability analysis extended to interfaces separating elastically-deformable bodies using model-dependent fracture mechanics estimates. We propose an alternative approach in which the critical nucleation length is obtained from a related linear stability analysis of homogeneous sliding along interfaces separating elastically-deformable bodies. For elastically identical half-spaces and rate-and-state friction, the two approaches are shown to yield $L_c$ that features the same scaling structure, but with substantially different numerical pre-factors, resulting in a significantly larger $L_c$ in our approach. The proposed approach is also shown to be naturally applicable to finite-size systems and bimaterial interfaces, for which various analytic results are derived. To quantitatively test the proposed approach, we performed inertial Finite-Element-Method calculations for a finite-size two-dimensional elastically-deformable body in rate-and-state frictional contact with a rigid body under sideway loading. We show that the theoretically predicted $L_c$ and its finite-size dependence are in reasonably good quantitative agreement with the full numerical solutions, lending support to the proposed approach. These results offer a theoretical framework for predicting rapid slip nucleation along frictional interfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Dynamic instabilities of frictional sliding at a bimaterial interface

We study the 2D linear stability analysis of a deformable solid of a finite height $H$, steadily sliding on top of a rigid solid within a generic rate-and-state friction type constitutive framework, fully accounting for elastodynamic effects. We derive the linear stability spectrum, quantifying the interplay between stabilization related to the frictional constitutive law and destabilization related both to the elastodynamic bi-material coupling between normal stress variations and interfacial slip, and to finite size effects. The stabilizing effects related to the frictional constitutive law include velocity-strengthening friction (i.e.~an increase in frictional resistance with increasing slip velocity, both instantaneous and under steady-state conditions) and a regularized response to normal stress variations. We first consider the small wave-number $k$ limit and demonstrate that homogeneous sliding in this case is universally unstable, independently of the details of the friction law. This universal instability is mediated by propagating waveguide-like modes, whose fastest growing mode is characterized by a wave-number satisfying $k H\!\sim\!{\cal O}(1)$ and by a growth rate that scales with $H^{-1}$. We then consider the limit $k H\!\to\!\infty$ and derive the stability phase diagram in this case. We show that the dominant instability mode travels at nearly the dilatational wave-speed in the opposite direction to the sliding direction. Instability modes which travel at nearly the shear wave-speed in the sliding direction also exist in some range of physical parameters. Finally, we show that a finite-time regularized response to normal stress variations, within the framework of generalized rate-and-state friction models, tends to promote stability.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Modeling of grain boundary dynamics using amplitude equations

We discuss the modelling of grain boundary dynamics within an amplitude equations description, which is derived from classical density functional theory or the phase field crystal model. The relation between the conditions for periodicity of the system and coincidence site lattices at grain boundaries is investigated. Within the amplitude equations framework we recover predictions of the geometrical model by Cahn and Taylor for coupled grain boundary motion, and find both $\langle100\rangle$ and $\langle110\rangle$ coupling. No spontaneous transition between these modes occurs due to restrictions related to the rotational invariance of the amplitude equations. Grain rotation due to coupled motion is also in agreement with theoretical predictions. Whereas linear elasticity is correctly captured by the amplitude equations model, open questions remain for the case of nonlinear deformations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Velocity-strengthening friction significantly affects interfacial dynamics, strength and dissipation

Frictional interfaces are abundant in natural and manmade systems and their dynamics still pose challenges of fundamental and technological importance. A recent extensive compilation of multiple-source experimental data has revealed that velocity-strengthening friction, where the steady-state frictional resistance increases with sliding velocity over some range, is a generic feature of such interfaces. Moreover, velocity-strengthening friction has very recently been linked to slow laboratory earthquakes and stick-slip motion. Here we elucidate the importance of velocity-strengthening friction by theoretically studying three variants of a realistic rate-and-state friction model. All variants feature identical logarithmic velocity-weakening friction at small sliding velocities, but differ in their higher velocity behaviors. By quantifying energy partition (e.g. radiation and dissipation), the selection of interfacial rupture fronts and rupture arrest, we show that the presence or absence of velocity-strengthening friction can significantly affect the global interfacial resistance and the total energy released during frictional instabilities ("event magnitude"). Furthermore, we show that different forms of velocity-strengthening friction (e.g. logarithmic vs. linear) may result in events of similar magnitude, yet with dramatically different dissipation and radiation rates. This happens because the events are mediated by interfacial rupture fronts with vastly different propagation velocities, where stronger velocity-strengthening friction promotes slower rupture. These theoretical results may have significant implications on our understanding of frictional dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

On the velocity-strengthening behavior of dry friction

The onset of frictional instabilities, e.g. earthquakes nucleation, is intimately related to velocity-weakening friction, in which the frictional resistance of interfaces decreases with increasing slip velocity. While this frictional response has been studied extensively, less attention has been given to steady-state velocity-strengthening friction, in spite of its potential importance for various aspects of frictional phenomena such as the propagation speed of interfacial rupture fronts and the amount of stored energy released by them. In this note we suggest that a crossover from steady-state velocity-weakening friction at small slip velocities to steady-state velocity-strengthening friction at higher velocities might be a generic feature of dry friction. We further argue that while thermally activated rheology naturally gives rise to logarithmic steady-state velocity-strengthening friction, a crossover to stronger-than-logarithmic strengthening might take place at higher slip velocities, possibly accompanied by a change in the dominant dissipation mechanism. We sketch a few physical mechanisms that may account for the crossover to stronger-than-logarithmic steady-state velocity-strengthening and compile a rather extensive set of experimental data available in the literature, lending support to these ideas.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2013

Instabilities at Frictional Interfaces: Creep Patches, Nucleation and Rupture Fronts

The strength and stability of frictional interfaces, ranging from tribological systems to earthquake faults, are intimately related to the underlying spatially-extended dynamics. Here we provide a comprehensive theoretical account, both analytic and numeric, of spatiotemporal interfacial dynamics in a realistic rate-and-state friction model, featuring both velocity-weakening and strengthening behaviors. Slowly extending, loading-rate dependent, creep patches undergo a linear instability at a critical nucleation size, which is nearly independent of interfacial history, initial stress conditions and velocity-strengthening friction. Nonlinear propagating rupture fronts -- the outcome of instability -- depend sensitively on the stress state and velocity-strengthening friction. Rupture fronts span a wide range of propagation velocities and are related to steady state fronts solutions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Structural short-range forces between solid-melt interfaces

We predict the structural interaction of crystalline solid-melt interfaces using amplitude equations which are derived from classical density functional theory or phase-field-crystal modeling. The solid ordering decays exponentially on the scale of the interface thickness at solid-melt interfaces; the overlap of two such profiles leads to a short range interaction, which is mainly carried by the longest-range density waves, which can facilitate grain boundary premelting. We calculate the tail of these interactions, depending on the relative translation of the two crystals fully analytically and predict the interaction potential, and compare it to numerical simulations. For grain boundaries the interaction is predicted to decay twice faster as for two crystals without misorientation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Phase-field-crystal study of grain boundary premelting and shearing in bcc iron

We use the phase-field-crystal (PFC) method to investigate the equilibrium premelting and nonequilibrium shearing behaviors of $[001]$ symmetric tilt grain boundaries (GBs) at high homologous temperature over the complete range of misorientation $0<θ<90^\circ$ in classical models of bcc Fe. We characterize the dependence of the premelted layer width $W$ as a function of temperature and misorientation and compute the thermodynamic disjoining potential whose derivative with respect to $W$ represents the structural force between crystal-melt interfaces due to the spatial overlap of density waves. The disjoining potential is also computed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, for quantitative comparison with PFC simulations, and coarse-grained amplitude equations (AE) derived from PFC that provide additional analytical insights. We find that, for GBs over an intermediate range of misorientation ($θ_{\rm min}<θ<θ_{\rm max}$), $W$ diverges as the melting temperature is approached from below, corresponding to a purely repulsive disjoining potential, while for GBs outside this range ($θ<θ_{\rm min}$ or $θ_{\rm max}<θ<90^\circ$), $W$ remains finite at the melting point, with its value corresponding to a shallow attractive minimum of the disjoining potential. In response to a shear stress parallel to the GB plane, GBs in PFC simulations exhibit coupled motion normal to this plane, with a discontinuous change of the coupling factor as a function of $θ$ that reflects a transition between two coupling modes, and/or sliding (shearing of the two grains). The coupling factor for the two coupling modes is in excellent quantitative agreement with previous theoretical predictions [J. W. Cahn, Y. Mishin, and A. Suzuki, Acta Mater. 54, 4953 (2006)].

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Amplitude equations for polycrystalline materials with interaction between composition and stress

We investigate the ability of frame-invariant amplitude equations [G. H. Gunaratne, Q. Ouyang, and H. Swinney, Phys. Rev. E {\bf 50}, 2802 (1994)] to describe quantitatively the evolution of polycrystalline microstructures and we extend this approach to include the interaction between composition and stress. Validations for elemental materials include studies of the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld morphological instability of a stressed crystal surface, polycrystalline growth from the melt, grain boundary energies over a wide range of misorientation, and grain boundary motion coupled to shear deformation. Amplitude equations with accelerated strain relaxation in the solid are shown to model accurately the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability. Polycrystalline growth is also well described. However, the survey of grain boundary energies shows that the approach is only valid for a restricted range of misorientations as a direct consequence of an amplitude expansion. This range covers approximately half the complete range allowed by crystal symmetry for some fixed reference set of density waves used in the expansion. Over this range, coupled motion to shear is well described by known geometrical rules and a transition from coupling to sliding motion is also reproduced. Amplitude equations for alloys are derived phenomenologically in a Ginzburg-Landau spirit. Vegard's law is shown to be naturally described by seeking a gauge invariant form of those equations under a transformation that corresponds to a lattice expansion and deviations from Vegard's law can be easily incorporated. Those equations realistically describe the dilute alloy limit and have the same flexibility as conventional phase-field models for incorporating arbitrary free-energy/composition curves...

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Effective Elastic Moduli in Solids with High Crack Density

We investigate the weakening of elastic materials through randomly distributed circles and cracks numerically and compare the results to predictions from homogenization theories. We find a good agreement for the case of randomly oriented cracks of equal length in an isotropic plane-strain medium for lower crack densities; for higher densities the material is weaker than predicted due to precursors of percolation. For a parallel alignment of cracks, where percolation does not occur, we analytically predict a power law decay of the effective elastic constants for high crack densities, and confirm this result numerically.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Comparison of phase-field models for surface diffusion

The description of surface-diffusion controlled dynamics via the phase-field method is less trivial than it appears at first sight. A seemingly straightforward approach from the literature is shown to fail to produce the correct asymptotics, albeit in a subtle manner. Two models are constructed that approximate known sharp-interface equations without adding undesired constraints. Linear stability of a planar interface is investigated for the resulting phase-field equations and shown to reduce to the desired limit. Finally, numerical simulations of the standard and a more sophisticated model from the literature as well as of our two new models are performed to assess the relative merits of each approach. The results suggest superior performance of the new models in at least some situations.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2005

Phase Field Modeling of Fast Crack Propagation

We present a continuum theory which predicts the steady state propagation of cracks. The theory overcomes the usual problem of a finite time cusp singularity of the Grinfeld instability by the inclusion of elastodynamic effects which restore selection of the steady state tip radius and velocity. We developed a phase field model for elastically induced phase transitions; in the limit of small or vanishing elastic coefficients in the new phase, fracture can be studied. The simulations confirm analytical predictions for fast crack propagation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Deriving nonequilibrium interface kinetics from variational principles

Nonequilibrium dynamics at interfaces is generally driven by a chemical potential. Here we demonstrate a generic technique to derive the basic equations of motion, boundary conditions and the chemical potential in a consistent way from fundamental variational principles. As a particular example, we consider a solid surface with elastodynamic effects, together with surface energy and tension. We apply the generic results to perform a linear stability analysis of a planar front subjected to uniaxial stress (Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability), here also with surface tension.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Fast crack propagation by surface diffusion

We present a continuum theory which describes the fast growth of a crack by surface diffusion. This mechanism overcomes the usual cusp singularity by a self-consistent selection of the crack tip radius. It predicts the saturation of the steady state crack velocity appreciably below the Rayleigh speed and tip blunting. Furthermore, it includes the possibility of a tip splitting instability for high applied tensions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗