When conventional brittle materials break, long cracks form due to stress focusing at crack tips: a
phenomenon explained by Griffith in the 1920s. In this talk, we will discuss two types of systems where
the fracturing process is “unconventional”. The first type are fiber networks. Using simulations we found
that stress concentration never occurs in these networks. Instead, the network enters a steady state
where force chains break and reform, leading to a divergent length scale. The second type are Maxwell
lattices with domain walls hosting topologically protected states of self stress. Our simulations showed
that stress and bond breaking events are concentrated on these domain walls, even in presence of
cracks and deep into the nonlinear process of fracturing. We discuss how these ideas can be used in
designing metamaterials that are protected against crack formation.
8:30 – 9:10 Xiaoming Mao, University of Michigan.
https://mediaspace.gatech.edu/media/Perry+Ellis+-+XMao_SMF_20180419/1_dhyvi1cr
