2025/06/16 by Subrat Senapati, Senapati, Subrat, Anuradha Banerjee +3
Materials Science · #Advanced ceramic materials synthesis #FOS: Physical sciences #High-Velocity Impact and Material Behavior #Microstructure and mechanical properties #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.13433
openalex publication_date 2025/06/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Fracture processes in multi-phase solids are inherently complex due to multiple competing mechanisms. Here, we investigate the elastic and fracture behaviour of two-phase solids, comprising a fragile phase and a tough phase using a disordered spring network model. The macroscopic response is found to depend on the failure strain mismatch, the elastic modulus ratio, as well as the relative composition of the constituent phases. As the proportion of the tough phase increases, the system undergoes a reentrant phase transition in fracture behaviour: from brittle to ductile-like and back to brittle. These transitions are identified through both avalanche statistics and cluster size characteristics of broken springs. Notably, the avalanche exponent associated with the majority phase changes universality class during the brittle to ductile transition. Analysis of time evolution of cluster characteristics reveals distinct growth mechanisms in the two regimes. In the brittle regime, dominant clusters rapidly absorb other large clusters, keeping the total number of clusters nearly constant. In contrast, the ductile regime is characterised by more gradual coalescence, leading to a decrease in the total number of clusters over time while their average size increases. We provide a physical interpretation of the mechanisms underlying the observed switch in fracture behaviour.