# Accelerated relaxation in disordered solids under cyclic loading with alternating shear orientation

## TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to show that alternating shear orientations during cyclic loading accelerate relaxation in disordered solids, leading to lower energy states and increased mechanical strength.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that alternating shear orientations during cyclic loading enhance relaxation and improve mechanical properties in disordered solids, a novel insight into their deformation behavior.

## Key findings

- Deeper energy minima achieved with increased strain amplitude.
- Alternating shear orientations lead to lower energy states.
- Cyclic loading increases strength and shear-modulus anisotropy.

## Abstract

The effect of alternating shear orientation during cyclic loading on the relaxation dynamics in disordered solids is examined using molecular dynamics simulations. The model glass was initially prepared by rapid cooling from the liquid state and then subjected to cyclic shear along a single plane or periodically alternated in two or three dimensions. We showed that with increasing strain amplitude in the elastic range, the system is relocated to deeper energy minima. Remarkably, it was found that each additional alternation of the shear orientation in the deformation protocol brings the glass to lower energy states. The results of mechanical tests after more than a thousand shear cycles indicate that cyclic loading leads to the increase in strength and shear-modulus anisotropy.