Isomorphs in sheared binary Lennard-Jones glass: Transient response

TL;DR

This study explores how the transient stress response in sheared binary Lennard-Jones glasses varies with density and thermodynamic state points, revealing that peak stress decreases with density and shear band formation influences this behavior.

Contribution

The paper introduces a method to generate isomorphs in non-equilibrium shear conditions with large density changes, highlighting the invariance of steady state flow stress but not peak stress.

Findings

Steady state flow stress remains invariant along isomorphs.

Peak stress decreases with increasing density, by a few percent per ten percent density increase.

Shear band formation tendency varies with density, affecting peak stress behavior.

Abstract

We have studied shear deformation of binary Lennard-Jones glasses to investigate the extent to which the transient part of the stress strain curves is invariant when the thermodynamic state point is varied along an isomorph. Shear deformations were carried out on glass samples of varying stability, determined by cooling rate, and at varying strain rates, at a state point deep in the glass. Density changes up to and exceeding a factor of two were made. We investigated several different methods for generating isomorphs but none of the previously developed methods could generate sufficiently precise isomorphs given the large density changes and non-equilibrium situation. Instead, the temperatures for these higher densities were chosen to give state points isomorphic to the starting state point by requiring the steady state flow stress for isomorphic state points to be invariant in reduced units. In contrast to the steady state flow stress, we find that the peak stress on the stress strain curve is not invariant. The peak stress decreases by a few percent for each ten percent increase in density, although the differences decrease with increasing density. Analysis of strain profiles and non-affine motion during the transient phase suggests that the root of the changes in peak stress is a varying tendency to form shear bands, with the largest tendency occurring at the lowest densities. We argue that this reflects the effective steepness of the potential; a higher effective steepness gives a greater tendency to form shear bands.