117 research outputs found
noise and avalanche scaling in plastic deformation
We study the intermittency and noise of dislocation systems undergoing shear
deformation. Simulations of a simple two-dimensional discrete dislocation
dynamics model indicate that the deformation rate exhibits a power spectrum
scaling of the type . The noise exponent is far away from a
Lorentzian, with . This result is directly related to the
way the durations of avalanches of plastic deformation activity scale with
their size.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Surface criticality in random field magnets
The boundary-induced scaling of three-dimensional random field Ising magnets
is investigated close to the bulk critical point by exact combinatorial
optimization methods. We measure several exponents describing surface
criticality: for the surface layer magnetization and the surface
excess exponents for the magnetization and the specific heat, and
. The latter ones are related to the bulk phase transition by the
same scaling laws as in pure systems, but only with the same violation of
hyperscaling exponent as in the bulk. The boundary disorders faster
than the bulk, and the experimental and theoretical implications are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
The effect of thresholding on temporal avalanche statistics
We discuss intermittent time series consisting of discrete bursts or
avalanches separated by waiting or silent times. The short time correlations
can be understood to follow from the properties of individual avalanches, while
longer time correlations often present in such signals reflect correlations
between triggerings of different avalanches. As one possible source of the
latter kind of correlations in experimental time series, we consider the effect
of a finite detection threshold, due to e.g. experimental noise that needs to
be removed. To this end, we study a simple toy model of an avalanche, a random
walk returning to the origin or a Brownian bridge, in the presence and absence
of superimposed delta-correlated noise. We discuss the properties after
thresholding of artificial timeseries obtained by mixing toy avalanches and
waiting times from a Poisson process. Most of the resulting scalings for
individual avalanches and the composite timeseries can be understood via random
walk theory, except for the waiting time distributions when strong additional
noise is added. Then, to compare with a more complicated case we study the
Manna sandpile model of self-organized criticality, where some further
complications appear.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, submitted to J. Stat. Mech., special issue of
the UPoN2008 conferenc
Boundary lubrication with a liquid crystal monolayer
We study boundary lubrication characteristics of a liquid crystal (LC) monolayer sheared between two crystalline surfaces by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, using a simplified rigid bead-necklace model of the LC molecules. We consider LC monolayers confined by surfaces with three different atomic structures, subject to different shearing velocities, thus approximating a wide variety of materials and driving conditions. The time dependence of the friction force is studied and correlated with that of the orientational order exhibited by the LC molecules, arising from the competition between the effect of the structure of the confining surfaces and that of the imposed sliding direction. We show that the observed stick-slip events for low shear rates involve order-disorder transitions, and that the LC monolayer no longer has enough time to reorder at high shear rates, resulting in a smooth sliding regime. An irregular stick-slip phase between the regular stick-slip and smooth sliding is observed for intermediate shear rates regardless of the surface structure.Peer reviewe
Roughness and multiscaling of planar crack fronts
We consider numerically the roughness of a planar crack front within the
long-range elastic string model, with a tunable disorder correlation length
. The problem is shown to have two important length scales, and the
Larkin length . Multiscaling of the crack front is observed for scales
below , provided that the disorder is strong enough. The asymptotic
scaling with a roughness exponent is recovered for scales
larger than both and . If , these regimes are separated
by a third regime characterized by the Larkin exponent .
We discuss the experimental implications of our results.Comment: 8 pages, two figure
Dislocation interactions mediated by grain boundaries
The dynamics of dislocation assemblies in deforming crystals indicate the
emergence of collective phenomena, intermittent fluctuations and strain
avalanches. In polycrystalline materials, the understanding of plastic
deformation mechanisms depends on grasping the role of grain boundaries on
dislocation motion. Here the interaction of dislocations and elastic, low angle
grain boundaries is studied in the framework of a discrete dislocation
representation. We allow grain boundaries to deform under the effect of
dislocation stress fields and compare the effect of such a perturbation to the
case of rigid grain boudaries. We are able to determine, both analytically and
numerically, corrections to dislocation stress fields acting on neighboring
grains, as mediated by grain boundary deformation. Finally, we discuss
conclusions and consequences for the avalanche statistics, as observed in
polycrystalline samples.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Tuning the Correlation Decay in the Resistance Fluctuations of Multi-Species Networks
A new network model is proposed to describe the resistance noise
in disordered materials for a wide range of values ().
More precisely, we have considered the resistance fluctuations of a thin
resistor with granular structure in different stationary states: from nearly
equilibrium up to far from equilibrium conditions. This system has been
modelled as a network made by different species of resistors, distinguished by
their resistances, temperature coefficients and by the energies associated with
thermally activated processes of breaking and recovery. The correlation
behavior of the resistance fluctuations is analyzed as a function of the
temperature and applied current, in both the frequency and time domains. For
the noise frequency exponent, the model provides at low
currents, in the Ohmic regime, with decreasing inversely with the
temperature, and at high currents, in the non-Ohmic regime.
Since the threshold current associated with the onset of nonlinearity also
depends on the temperature, the proposed model qualitatively accounts for the
complicate behavior of versus temperature and current observed in many
experiments. Correspondingly, in the time domain, the auto-correlation function
of the resistance fluctuations displays a variety of behaviors which are tuned
by the external conditions.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, Submitted to JSTAT - Special issue SigmaPhi200
Spatial fluctuations in transient creep deformation
We study the spatial fluctuations of transient creep deformation of materials
as a function of time, both by Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measurements of
paper samples and by numerical simulations of a crystal plasticity or discrete
dislocation dynamics model. This model has a jamming or yielding phase
transition, around which power-law or Andrade creep is found. During primary
creep, the relative strength of the strain rate fluctuations increases with
time in both cases - the spatially averaged creep rate obeys the Andrade law
, while the time dependence of the spatial
fluctuations of the local creep rates is given by . A similar scaling for the fluctuations is found in the logarithmic
creep regime that is typically observed for lower applied stresses. We review
briefly some classical theories of Andrade creep from the point of view of such
spatial fluctuations. We consider these phenomenological, time-dependent creep
laws in terms of a description based on a non-equilibrium phase transition
separating evolving and frozen states of the system when the externally applied
load is varied. Such an interpretation is discussed further by the data
collapse of the local deformations in the spirit of absorbing state/depinning
phase transitions, as well as deformation-deformation correlations and the
width of the cumulative strain distributions. The results are also compared
with the order parameter fluctuations observed close to the depinning
transition of the 2 Linear Interface Model or the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson
equation.Comment: 27 pages, 18 figure
Yielding and irreversible deformation below the microscale: Surface effects and non-mean-field plastic avalanches
Nanoindentation techniques recently developed to measure the mechanical
response of crystals under external loading conditions reveal new phenomena
upon decreasing sample size below the microscale. At small length scales,
material resistance to irreversible deformation depends on sample morphology.
Here we study the mechanisms of yield and plastic flow in inherently small
crystals under uniaxial compression. Discrete structural rearrangements emerge
as series of abrupt discontinuities in stress-strain curves. We obtain the
theoretical dependence of the yield stress on system size and geometry and
elucidate the statistical properties of plastic deformation at such scales. Our
results show that the absence of dislocation storage leads to crucial effects
on the statistics of plastic events, ultimately affecting the universal scaling
behavior observed at larger scales.Comment: Supporting Videos available at
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.002041
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