Finite-Disorder Critical Point in the Yielding Transition of Elastoplastic Models

Area of Science:

• Solid mechanics
• Materials science
• Computational physics

Background:

• Amorphous solids display distinct yielding behaviors: brittle fracture via shear bands or ductile flow through plastic events.
• The existence of a critical point separating these yielding regimes, dependent on disorder and stability, remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the existence of a critical point separating brittle and ductile yielding in amorphous solids.
• To characterize the nature of this critical point using numerical simulations.

Main Methods:

• Extensive numerical simulations of athermally driven elastoplastic models.
• Utilized long-range and anisotropic interaction kernels in 2D and 3D.
• Analyzed yielding transitions as a function of disorder strength and stability.

Main Results:

• Provided clear numerical evidence for a finite-disorder critical point.
• Demonstrated this critical point separates brittle and ductile yielding regimes.
• Estimated critical exponents for yielding transitions in both 2D and 3D.

Conclusions:

• The study resolves the debate by confirming a sharp critical point governs yielding transitions in amorphous solids.
• Findings contribute to understanding the fundamental physics of material failure and plastic deformation.
• The critical exponents provide quantitative measures for characterizing these transitions.