Solitonic State in Microscopic Dynamic Failures

Area of Science:

• Solid-state physics
• Materials science
• Continuum mechanics

Background:

• Permanent deformation in crystalline materials initiates with defect nucleation and propagation under stress.
• Understanding the dynamic processes governing material failure is crucial for predicting material behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of local excitations, or solitons, in the dynamic strain field during material indentation.
• To characterize the spatio-temporal evolution of solitons during material failure events.

Main Methods:

• Indentation tests on crystalline materials.
• Measurement of spatio-temporal strain fields near the indenter tip.
• Analysis of dynamic strain history during displacement bursts.

Main Results:

• Dynamic strain history reveals characteristics of soliton formation and interaction during displacement bursts.
• Multiple solitons propagate and can exhibit sudden acceleration, shortening the fast-slip phase of failure.
• Soliton dynamics, including acceleration and collision, lead to non-Newtonian behavior and Lorentz contraction.

Conclusions:

• Soliton formation and annihilation mediate the fast weakening phase in materials.
• Understanding soliton dynamics offers insights into microscopic failure mechanisms.
• The findings have implications for material failure analysis and earthquake source complexity.