Modes of failures in disordered solids

TL;DR

This paper classifies failure modes in disordered solids based on heterogeneity and damage length scale, using a fiber bundle model to develop a phase diagram that unifies different failure behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a classification framework and scaling criteria for failure modes in disordered solids, unifying previous models through a phase diagram.

Findings

Identifies two main failure modes: diffused damage and localized failure.

Develops scaling criteria for different failure modes.

Proposes a phase diagram to understand the transition between failure modes.

Abstract

The two principal ingredients determining the failure modes of disordered solids are the level of heterogeneity and the length scale of the region affected in the solid following a local failure. While the latter facilitates damage nucleation, the former leads to diffused damage, the two extreme failure modes. In this study, using the random fiber bundle model as a prototype for disorder solids, we classify every failure modes that are the results of interplay between these two effects. We obtain scaling criteria for the different modes and propose a general phase diagram that provides a framework for understanding previous theoretical and experimental attempts of interpolation between these modes.