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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals
Published on: November 22, 2021
Role of disorder in the size scaling of material strength
Mikko J Alava1, Phani K V V Nukala, Stefano Zapperi
1Laboratory of Physics, Helsinki University of Technology, FIN-02015 HUT, Espoo, Finland.
Abstract:
We study the sample-size dependence of the strength of disordered materials with a flaw, by numerical simulations of lattice models for fracture. We find a crossover between a regime controlled by the disorder and another controlled by stress concentrations, ruled by continuum fracture mechanics. The results are formulated in terms of a scaling law involving a statistical fracture process zone. Its existence and scaling properties are revealed only by sampling over many configurations of the disorder. The scaling law is in good agreement with experimental results obtained from notched paper samples.
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