FROM CONTINUUM TO QUANTUM MECHANICS STUDY ON THE FRACTURE OF NANOSCALE NOTCHED BRITTLE MATERIALS

The fracture of nanoscale notched brittle materials is investigated using the multi-scale analysis of cohesive zone modeling and first-principles calculations based on the notched nano-cantilever bending experiment. first-principles calculations are performed to investigate the inherent fracture properties of single-crystal silicon from atomic and electronic viewpoints. The fracture surface energy and critical bond length for the break of atomic bonds during the fracture are compared with the cohesive energy and failure length parameter, which indicates that the consumed energy is an effective linkage to quantify the fracture of brittle materials at different scales.
EXTENDED ABSTRACT