Molecular dynamics simulation of brittle fracture in silicon

J G Swadener; M I Baskes; M Nastasi

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.085503

Molecular dynamics simulation of brittle fracture in silicon

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Aug 19;89(8):085503. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.085503. Epub 2002 Aug 6.

Authors

J G Swadener¹, M I Baskes, M Nastasi

Affiliation

¹ Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.

PMID: 12190480
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.085503

Abstract

Brittle fracture in silicon is simulated with molecular dynamics utilizing a modified embedded atom method potential. The simulations produce propagating crack speeds that are in agreement with previous experimental results over a large range of fracture energy. The dynamic fracture toughness is found to be equal to the energy consumed by creating surfaces and lattice defects in agreement with theoretical predictions. The dynamic fracture toughness is approximately 1/3 of the static strain energy release rate, which results in a limiting crack speed of 2/3 of the Rayleigh wave speed.