FS - Fracture across the scales
Fracture is an intrinsically multi-scale phenomenon that starts from interatomic bond breaking at the nanoscale and/or damage growth at microscale and eventually results in macroscopic failure of engineering components and structures. There is a tremendous gap in length- and energy-scales between the fundamental, nano-scale fracture processes and the engineering scale failure. It is therefore challenging to achieve a multi-scale approach that connects the small scale processes that are involved in the onset of fracture/crack propagation, such as atomic bond breaking, plasticity due to discrete dislocation events or void growth and coalescence, to the macroscale.
This symposium focuses on methods and techniques aimed at addressing scale-bridging between the atomistic, the microstructural and the macroscopic scales, aiming at closing a common divide between engineering world and small-scale physics.
The symposium covers the following topics:
- Atomistic modelling of fracture, based e.g. on molecular dynamics simulations.
- Techniques to achieve quantum-mechanical accuracy in atomistic modelling of fracture, including e.g. machine-learning interatomic potentials.
- Discrete dislocation dynamics simulations and other coarse-grained mesoscopic modelling of crack initiation and propagation.
- Interaction of cracks with other defects, including grain, twin and interphase boundaries, precipitates/inclusions, etc.
- Microscale damage to fracture, including void growth and coalescence under room temperature static, low cycle fatigue and creep conditions, in connection with simple or complex microstructures
- Multiscale bridging methods or upscaling strategies linking different length and/or time scales in fracture, with special focus from nano- to micro-scales, including also the way models can be identified and validated towards experiments
- Applications highlighting the importance of a multi-scale approach to fracture, including e.g. hydrogen embrittlement, liquid metal embrittlement, fracture in corrosive environments.
