Teilprojekt P1 – Chemistry at the Crack Tip (GRK2423 - P1)

Third Party Funds Group - Sub project


Acronym: GRK2423 - P1

Start date : 02.01.2019

End date : 30.06.2023

Extension date: 31.12.2027

Website: https://www.frascal.research.fau.eu/home/research/p1-chemistry-at-the-crack-tip/


Overall project details

Overall project

Fracture across Scales: Integrating Mechanics, Materials Science, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics (FRASCAL) (GRK 2423 FRASCAL) Jan. 1, 2019 - Dec. 31, 2027

Overall project speaker:

Project details

Short description

The chemical environment can critically affect the fracture processes, leading to subcritical crack growth. The inner surfaces of the cracks are covered by adsorbates from the surrounding liquid or gas phase. When bonds break in the course of crack propagation, these adsorbates strongly react with the newly created surfaces, for example, by saturating the broken bonds. Examples are stress corrosion cracking in metals and semiconductors or the moisture-driven crack growth in silica. In both cases, the crack propagation induces and drives the incorporation of oxygen species, leading to an oxidation/hydroxylation of the inner surfaces, which completely alters the chemistry at the crack tip.

In this project we propose to study the complex interplay between bond breaking at the crack tip and the adsorption/bond saturation with molecules from the environment by MD simulations. The aim is to obtain mechanistic insights into environmentally-assisted fracture for model ceramic materials.

Scientific Abstract

The chemical environment can critically affect the fracture processes, leading to subcritical crack growth. The inner surfaces of the cracks are covered by adsorbates from the surrounding liquid or gas phase. When bonds break in the course of crack propagation, these adsorbates strongly react with the newly created surfaces, for example, by saturating the broken bonds. Examples are stress corrosion cracking in metals and semiconductors or the moisture-driven crack growth in silica. In both cases, the crack propagation induces and drives the incorporation of oxygen species, leading to an oxidation/hydroxylation of the inner surfaces, which completely alters the chemistry at the crack tip.

In this project we propose to study the complex interplay between bond breaking at the crack tip and the adsorption/bond saturation with molecules from the environment by MD simulations. The aim is to obtain mechanistic insights into environmentally-assisted fracture for model ceramic materials.

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Contributing FAU Organisations:

Funding Source