27 research outputs found
Phase Field Modeling of Fracture and Stress Induced Phase Transitions
We present a continuum theory to describe elastically induced phase
transitions between coherent solid phases. In the limit of vanishing elastic
constants in one of the phases, the model can be used to describe fracture on
the basis of the late stage of the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability. Starting
from a sharp interface formulation we derive the elastic equations and the
dissipative interface kinetics. We develop a phase field model to simulate
these processes numerically; in the sharp interface limit, it reproduces the
desired equations of motion and boundary conditions. We perform large scale
simulations of fracture processes to eliminate finite-size effects and compare
the results to a recently developed sharp interface method. Details of the
numerical simulations are explained, and the generalization to multiphase
simulations is presented
Evidence for structural and electronic instabilities at intermediate temperatures in -(BEDT-TTF)X for X=Cu[N(CN)]Cl, Cu[N(CN)]Br and Cu(NCS): Implications for the phase diagram of these quasi-2D organic superconductors
We present high-resolution measurements of the coefficient of thermal
expansion of the quasi-twodimensional
(quasi-2D) salts -(BEDT-TTF)X with X = Cu(NCS), Cu[N(CN)]Br
and Cu[N(CN)]Cl. At intermediate temperatures (B), distinct anomalies
reminiscent of second-order phase transitions have been found at
K and 45 K for the superconducting X = Cu(NCS) and Cu[N(CN)]Br salts,
respectively. Most interestingly, we find that the signs of the uniaxial
pressure coefficients of are strictly anticorrelated with those of
. We propose that marks the transition to a spin-density-wave
(SDW) state forming on minor, quasi-1D parts of the Fermi surface. Our results
are compatible with two competing order parameters that form on disjunct
portions of the Fermi surface. At elevated temperatures (C), all compounds show
anomalies that can be identified with a kinetic, glass-like
transition where, below a characteristic temperature , disorder in the
orientational degrees of freedom of the terminal ethylene groups becomes frozen
in. We argue that the degree of disorder increases on going from the X =
Cu(NCS) to Cu[N(CN)]Br and the Cu[N(CN)]Cl salt. Our results
provide a natural explanation for the unusual time- and cooling-rate
dependencies of the ground-state properties in the hydrogenated and deuterated
Cu[N(CN)]Br salts reported in the literature.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure