The role of porous structure and glass density in response to compressive
deformation of amorphous materials is investigated via molecular dynamics
simulations. The disordered, porous structures were prepared by quenching a
high-temperature binary mixture below the glass transition into the phase
coexistence region. With decreasing average glass density, the pore morphology
in quiescent samples varies from a random distribution of compact voids to a
porous network embedded in a continuous glass phase. We find that during
compressive loading at constant volume, the porous structure is linearly
transformed in the elastic regime and the elastic modulus follows a power-law
increase as a function of the average glass density. Upon further compression,
pores deform significantly and coalesce into large voids leading to formation
of domains with nearly homogeneous glass phase, which provides an enhanced
resistance to deformation at high strain.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
