Molecular dynamics simulation of crack propagation in a 2D Pd-Ir random alloy

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations, based on many-body inter-atomic potentials, have been performed to investigate the propagation of a Mode-I (edge) crack in a two-dimensional (2D) (111) plane of a random alloy of Pd and different percentage of Ir atoms. The Sutton-Chen many-body potential was used to simulate all inter-atomic interactions. We show that, fluctuations in the crack velocity, which lead to the phenomenon of crack branching, are also present in this alloy. Furthermore, it is found that as the percentage of Ir atoms increases, the critical stress for the initiation of crack propagation is increased, and the fluctuations in the crack velocity make their appearance sooner. © 2015 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.