Chen Yi-Chun, Lu Zhen, Nomura Ken-Ichi, Wang Weiqiang, Kalia Rajiv K, Nakano Aiichiro, Vashishta Priya
Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0242, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Oct 12;99(15):155506. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.155506.
Multimillion-to-billion-atom molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the interaction of voids in silica glass under hydrostatic tension. Nanometer size cavities nucleate in intervoid ligaments as a result of the expansion of Si-O rings due to a bond-switching mechanism, which involves bond breaking between Si-O and bond formation between that Si and a nonbridging O. With further increase in strain, nanocracks form on void surfaces and ligaments fracture through the growth and coalescence of ligament nanocavities in a manner similar to that observed in ductile metallic alloys.
