New universality class for the fragmentation of plastic materials

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the fragmentation of polymeric materials by impacting polypropylene particles of spherical shape against a hard wall. Experiments reveal a power law mass distribution of fragments with an exponent close to 1.2, which is significantly different from the known exponents of three-dimensional bulk materials. A 3D discrete element model is introduced which reproduces both the large permanent deformation of the polymer during impact, and the novel value of the mass distribution exponent. We demonstrate that the dominance of shear in the crack formation and the plastic response of the material are the key features which give rise to the emergence of the novel universality class of fragmentation phenomena.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, appearing in Phys. Rev. Let

Crackling noise in three-point bending of heterogeneous materials

We study the crackling noise emerging during single crack propagation in a specimen under three-point bending conditions. Computer simulations are carried out in the framework of a discrete element model where the specimen is discretized in terms of convex polygons and cohesive elements are represented by beams. Computer simulations revealed that fracture proceeds in bursts whose size and waiting time distributions have a power law functional form with an exponential cutoff. Controlling the degree of brittleness of the sample by the amount of disorder, we obtain a scaling form for the characteristic quantities of crackling noise of quasi-brittle materials. Analyzing the spatial structure of damage we show that ahead of the crack tip a process zone is formed as a random sequence of broken and intact mesoscopic elements. We characterize the statistics of the shrinking and expanding steps of the process zone and determine the damage profile in the vicinity of the crack tip.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figure

Universality class of the fragmentation of plastic materials

We carry out an experimental and theoretical study of the fragmentation of polymeric materials by impacting polypropylene (PP) particles of spherical shape against a hard wall. Our experiments revealed that the mass distribution of fragments has a power law behavior with an exponent close to 1.2, which is significantly different from the known exponents of threedimensional bulk materials. To understand the fragmentation of plastic materials we developed a threedimensional discrete element model where the sample is represented as a random packing of spherical particles connected by elastic beams. The model reproduces both the large permanent deformation of the polymer during impact, and the novel value of the mass distribution exponent. Computer simulations revealed that the dominance of shear in the crack formation and the healing of compressed crack surfaces are the key features which give rise to the emergence of the novel universality class of fragmentation phenomena

Universality class of the fragmentation of plastic materials

We carry out an experimental and theoretical study of the fragmentation of polymeric materials by impacting polypropylene (PP) particles of spherical shape against a hard wall. Our experiments revealed that the mass distribution of fragments has a power law behavior with an exponent close to 1.2, which is significantly different from the known exponents of threedimensional bulk materials. To understand the fragmentation of plastic materials we developed a threedimensional discrete element model where the sample is represented as a random packing of spherical particles connected by elastic beams. The model reproduces both the large permanent deformation of the polymer during impact, and the novel value of the mass distribution exponent. Computer simulations revealed that the dominance of shear in the crack formation and the healing of compressed crack surfaces are the key features which give rise to the emergence of the novel universality class of fragmentation phenomena

Observation of Anomalous Internal Pair Creation in 8^8Be: A Possible Signature of a Light, Neutral Boson

Electron-positron angular correlations were measured for the isovector magnetic dipole 17.6 MeV state ($J^\pi=1^+$, $T=1$) $\rightarrow$ ground state ($J^\pi=0^+$, $T=0$) and the isoscalar magnetic dipole 18.15 MeV ($J^\pi=1^+$, $T=0$) state $\rightarrow$ ground state transitions in $^{8}$Be. Significant deviation from the internal pair creation was observed at large angles in the angular correlation for the isoscalar transition with a confidence level of $> 5\sigma$. This observation might indicate that, in an intermediate step, a neutral isoscalar particle with a mass of 16.70$\pm0.35$ (stat)$\pm 0.5$ (sys) MeV$/c^2$ and $J^\pi = 1^+$ was created.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure