Review on phase transformations, fracture, chemical reactions, and other structural changes in inelastic materials

TL;DR

This review synthesizes three decades of research on phase transformations, fracture, and structural changes in inelastic materials, emphasizing thermodynamic, kinetic, and interface theories with applications to real phenomena.

Contribution

It consolidates theoretical frameworks and numerical solutions for complex inelastic phenomena, highlighting new mechanisms like virtual melting and shear-induced transformations.

Findings

Interfaces significantly influence phase transformation and fracture behavior.

Virtual melting acts as a new plastic deformation mechanism.

High strain rate loading induces stress relaxation and phase changes.

Abstract

Review of selected fundamental topics on the interaction between phase transformations, fracture, and other structural changes in inelastic materials is presented. It mostly focuses on the concepts developed in the author's group over last three decades and numerous papers that affected us. It includes a general thermodynamic and kinetic theories with sharp interfaces and within phase field approach. Numerous analytical (even at large strains) and numerical solutions illustrate the main features of the developed theories and their application to the real phenomena. Coherent, semicoherent, and noncoherent interfaces, as well as interfaces with decohesion and with intermediate liquid (disordered) phase are discussed. Importance of the surface- and scale-induced phenomena on interaction between phase transformation with fracture and dislocations as well as inheritance of dislocations and plastic strains is demonstrated. Some nontrivial phenomena, like solid-solid phase transformations via intermediate (virtual) melt, virtual melting as a new mechanism of plastic deformation and stress relaxation under high strain rate loading, and phase transformations and chemical reactions induced by plastic shear under high pressure are discussed and modeled.