7,034 research outputs found
Universality class of fiber bundles with strong heterogeneities
We study the effect of strong heterogeneities on the fracture of disordered
materials using a fiber bundle model. The bundle is composed of two subsets of
fibers, i.e. a fraction 0<\alpha<1 of fibers is unbreakable, while the
remaining 1-\alpha fraction is characterized by a distribution of breaking
thresholds. Assuming global load sharing, we show analytically that there
exists a critical fraction of the components \alpha_c which separates two
qualitatively different regimes of the system: below \alpha_c the burst size
distribution is a power law with the usual exponent \tau=5/2, while above
\alpha_c the exponent switches to a lower value \tau=9/4 and a cutoff function
occurs with a diverging characteristic size. Analyzing the macroscopic response
of the system we demonstrate that the transition is conditioned to disorder
distributions where the constitutive curve has a single maximum and an
inflexion point defining a novel universality class of breakdown phenomena
Slip avalanches in a fiber bundle model
We study slip avalanches in disordered materials under an increasing external
load in the framework of a fiber bundle model. Over-stressed fibers of the
model do not break, instead they relax in a stick-slip event which may trigger
an entire slip avalanche. Slip avalanches are characterized by the number
slipping fibers, by the slip length, and by the load increment, which triggers
the avalanche. Our calculations revealed that all three quantities are
characterized by power law distributions with universal exponents. We show by
analytical calculations and computer simulations that varying the amount of
disorder of slip thresholds and the number of allowed slips of fibers, the
system exhibits a disorder induced phase transition from a phase where only
small avalanches are formed to another one where a macroscopic slip appears.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
The One Dimensional Damped Forced Harmonic Oscillator Revisited
In this paper we give a general solution to the problem of the damped
harmonic oscillator under the influence of an arbitrary time-dependent external
force. We employ simple methods accessible for beginners and useful for
undergraduate students and professors in an introductory course of mechanics.Comment: 4 Latex page
Disorder induced brittle to quasi-brittle transition in fiber bundles
We investigate the fracture process of a bundle of fibers with random Young
modulus and a constant breaking strength. For two component systems we show
that the strength of the mixture is always lower than the strength of the
individual components. For continuously distributed Young modulus the tail of
the distribution proved to play a decisive role since fibers break in the
decreasing order of their stiffness. Using power law distributed stiffness
values we demonstrate that the system exhibits a disorder induced brittle to
quasi-brittle transition which occurs analogously to continuous phase
transitions. Based on computer simulations we determine the critical exponents
of the transition and construct the phase diagram of the system.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
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