Propagation Properties of Shock Waves in Polyurethane Foam based on Atomistic Simulations

Porous materials are widely used in the field of protection because of their excellent energy absorption characteristics.In this work,a series of polyurethane microscopic models are established and the effect of porosity on the shock waves is studied with classical molecular dynamics simulations.Firstly,shock Hugoniot relations for different porosities are obtained,which compare well with the experimental data.The pores collapse and form local stress wave,which results in the complex multi-wave structure of the shock wave.The microstructure analysis shows that the local stress increases and the local velocity decreases gradually during the process of pore collapse to complete compaction.Finally,it leads to stress relaxation and velocity homogenization.The shock stress peaks can be fitted with two exponential functions,and the amplitude of attenuation coefficient decreases with the increase of density.Besides,the pore collapse under shock or non-shock are discussed by the entropy increase rate of the system.The energy is dissipated mainly through the multiple interactions of the waves under shock.The energy is dissipated mainly by the friction between atoms under non-shock.

MicroMagnetic.jl:A Julia package for micromagnetic and atomistic simulations with GPU support

MicroMagnetic.jl is an open-source Julia package for micromagnetic and atomistic simulations.Using the features of the Julia programming language,MicroMagnetic.jl supports CPU and various GPU platforms,including NVIDIA,AMD,Intel,and Apple GPUs.Moreover,MicroMagnetic.jl supports Monte Carlo simulations for atomistic models and implements the nudged-elastic-band method for energy barrier computations.With built-in support for double and single precision modes and a design allowing easy extensibility to add new features,MicroMagnetic.jl provides a versatile toolset for researchers in micromagnetics and atomistic simulations.

Atomistic simulation of thermal effects and defect structures during nanomachining of copper

Molecular dynamics （MD） simulations of monocrystalline copper （100） surface during nanomachining process were performed based on a new 3D simulation model. The material removal mechanism and system temperature distribution were discussed. The simulation results indicate that the system temperature distribution presents a roughly concentric shape, a steep temperature gradient is observed in diamond cutting tool, and the highest temperature is located in chip. Centrosymmetry parameter method was used to monitor defect structures. Dislocations and vacancies are the two principal types of defect structures. Residual defect structures impose a major change on the workpiece physical properties and machined surface quality. The defect structures in workpiece are temperature dependent. As the temperature increases, the dislocations are mainly mediated from the workpiece surface, while the others are dissociated into point defects. The relatively high cutting speed used in nanomachining results in less defect structures, beneficial to obtain highly machined surface quality.

Primary and secondary modes of deformation twinning in HCP Mg based on atomistic simulations

Deformation twinning, i.e., twin nucleation and twin growth （or twin boundary migration, TBM） activated by impinged basal slip at a symmetrical tilt grain boundary in HCP Mg, was examined with molecular dynamics （MD） simulations. The results show that the {1^-1^-21}-type twinning acts as the most preferential mode of twinning. Once such twins are formed, they are almost ready to grow. The TBM of such twins is led by pure atomic shuffling events. A secondary mode of twinning can also occur in our simulations. The {112^-2} twinning is observed at 10 K as the secondary twin. This secondary mode of twinning shows different energy barriers for nucleation as well as for growth compared with the {1^-1^-21}-type twining. In particular, TBMs in this case is triggered intrinsically by pyramidal slip at its twin boundary.

ATOMISTIC/CONTINUUM SIMULATION OF INTERFACIAL FRACTURE——PART Ⅰ: ATOMISTIC SIMULATION

The phenomenon of interfacial fracture, as manifested by atom- istic cleavage, debonding and dislocation emission, provides a challenge for combined atomistic-continuum analysis. As a precursor for fully coupled atomistic-continuum simulation of interfacial fracture, we focus here on the atomistic behavior within a nanoscopic core surrounding the crack tip. The inter-atomic potential under Em- bedded Atom Method is recapitulated to form an essential framework of atomistic simulation. The calculations are performed for a side-cracked disc configuration un- der a remote K field loading. It is revealed that a critical loading rate defines the brittle-to-ductile transition of homogeneous materials. We further observe that the near tip mode mixity dictates the nanoscopic profile near an interfacial crack tip. A zigzag interface structure is simulated which plays a significant role in the dislocation emission from an interfacial crack tip, as will be explored in the second part of this investigation.

INVESTIGATION ON APPLICABILITY OF VARIOUS STRESS DEFINITIONS IN ATOMISTIC SIMULATION

How to correctly extract Cauchy stress from the atomistic simulations is a crucial issue in studying the mechanical behaviours of atomic systems, but is still in controversy. In this paper, three typical atomistic simulation examples are used to validate various existing stress definitions. It is found that the classical virial stress fails in predicting the stresses in these examples, because the velocity depends on the choice of the local average volume or the reference frame velocity and other factors. In contrast, the Lagrangian cross-section stress and Lagrangian virial stress are validated by these examples, and the instantaneous Lagrangian atomic stress definition is also proposed for dynamical problems.

Atomistic simulation of free transverse vibration of graphene,hexagonal SiC, and BN nanosheets

Free transverse vibration of monolayer graphene, boron nitride (BN), and silicon carbide (SiC) sheets is investigated by using molecular dynamics finite element method. Eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes of these three sheets in rectangular shape are studied with different aspect ratios with respect to various boundary conditions. It is found that aspect ratios and boundary conditions affect in a similar way on natural frequencies of graphene, BN, and SiC sheets. Natural frequencies in all modes decrease with an increase of the sheet’s size. Graphene exhibits the highest natural frequencies, and SiC sheet possesses the lowest ones. Missing atoms have minor effects on natural frequencies in this study.

Atomistic Simulations of the Effect of Helium on the Dissociation of Screw Dislocations in Nickel

The interactions of He with dissociated screw dislocations in face-centered-cubic （fcc） Ni are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations based on an embedded-atom method model. The binding and formation energies of interstitial He in and near Shockley partial cores are calculated. The results show that interstitial He atoms at tetrahedral sites in the perfect fee lattice and atoms occupying sites one plane above or below one of the two Shockley partial cores exhibit the strongest binding energy. The attractive or repulsive nature of the interaction between interstitial He and the screw dislocation depends on the relative position of He to these strong binding sites. In addition, the effect of He on the dissociation of screw dislocations are investigated. It is found that Fie atoms homogeneously distributed in the glide plane can reduce the stacking fault width.

Atomistic Simulation Study of Defect Structure of Zircon as a High-Level Nuclear Waste Host Form

A set of potential parameters for modeling zircon was obtained by atomistic simulation techniques and a reasonable structural model of zircon was established by fitting some important properties of zircon.Based on the equilibrium configuration of zircon, authors calculated the formation energies of basic point defects and intrinsic disorders. The heats of solution of substituting Pu for Zr showed that there was an immiscible gap at the composition of (Pu75%-Zr25%, in mole fraction), which suggests that the amount of Pu substituting for Zr in zircon be≤50%.

Atomistic Simulation of Interaction between Grain Boundary and Dislocations in Ni_3Al

The embedded atom type potentials and static relaxation method combined with a steepest decent computational technique have been used to simulate the interaction between the grain boundary (GB) and dislocations in Ni_3Al alloys.The focus has been placed on the energy feature of the interaction,the distortion of GB structural units,and the dislocation core structure near the GB.Im- plication has also been made on the results for the understanding of the mechanism responsible for B-enhanced ductility.

Mechanical and microstructural response of densified silica glass under uniaxial compression: Atomistic simulations

We investigate the mechanical and microstructural changes of the densified silica glass under uniaxial loading-unloading via atomistic simulations with a modified BKS potential. The stress–strain relationship is found to include three respective stages: elastic, plastic and hardening regions. The bulk modulus increases with the initial densification and will undergo a rapid increase after complete densification. The yield pressure varies from 5 to 12 GPa for different densified samples. In addition, the Si–O–Si bond angle reduces during elastic deformation under compression, and 5-fold Si will increase linearly in the plastic deformation. In the hardening region, the peak splitting and the new peak are both found on the Si–Si and O–O pair radial distribution functions, where the 6-fold Si is increased. Instead, the lateral displacement of the atoms always varies linearly with strain, without evident periodic characteristic. As is expected, the samples are permanently densified after release from the plastic region, and the maximum density of recovered samples is about 2.64 g/cm^3, which contains 15 % 5-fold Si, and the Si–O–Si bond angle is less than the ordinary silica glass. All these findings are of great significance for understanding the deformation process of densified silica glass.

Atomistic simulations on adhesive contact of single crystal Cu and wear behavior of Cu-Zn alloy

Atomistic simulations are carried out to investigate the nano-indentation of single crystal Cu and the sliding of the Cu-Zn alloy.As the contact zone is extended due to adhesive interaction between the contact atoms,the contact area on a nanoscale is redefined.A comparison of contact area and contact force between molecular dynamics(MD)and contact theory based on Greenwood-Williamson(GW)model is made.Lower roughness causes the adhesive interaction to weaken,showing the better consistency between the calculated results by MD and those from the theoretical model.The simulations of the sliding show that the substrate wear decreases with the mol%of Zn increasing,due to the fact that the diffusion movements of Zn atoms in substrate are blocked during the sliding because of the hexagonal close packed(hcp)structure of Zn.

Atomistic simulations of nucleation and growth of CaCO_(3)with the influence of inhibitors:A review

Calcium carbonate(CaCO_(3))is a crucial mineral with great scientific relevance in biomineralization and geoscience.However,excessive precipitation of CaCO_(3)is posing a threat to industrial production and the aquatic environment.The utilization of chemical inhibitors is typically considered an economical and successful route for addressing the scaling issues,while the underlying mechanism is still debated and needs to be further investigated.In this context,a deep understanding of the crystallization process of CaCO_(3)and how the inhibitors interact with CaCO_(3)nuclei and crystals are of great significance in evaluating the performance of scale inhibitors.In recent years,with the rapid development of computing facilities,computer simulations have provided an atomic-level perspective on the kinetics and thermodynamics of possible association events in CaCO_(3)solutions as well as the predictions of nucleation pathway and growth mechanism of CaCO_(3)crystals as a complement to experiment.This review surveys several computational methods and their achievements in this field with a focus on analyzing the functional mechanisms of different types of inhibitors.A general discussion of the current challenges and future directions in applying atomistic simulations to the discovery,design,and development of more effective water-scale inhibitors is also discussed.

Atomistic evaluation of tension–compression asymmetry in nanoscale body-centered-cubic AlCrFeCoNi high-entropy alloy

The tension and compression of face-centered-cubic high-entropy alloy(HEA) nanowires are significantly asymmetric, but the tension–compression asymmetry in nanoscale body-centered-cubic(BCC) HEAs is still unclear. In this study,the tension–compression asymmetry of the BCC Al Cr Fe Co Ni HEA nanowire is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The results show a significant asymmetry in both the yield and flow stresses, with BCC HEA nanowire stronger under compression than under tension. The strength asymmetry originates from the completely different deformation mechanisms in tension and compression. In compression, atomic amorphization dominates plastic deformation and contributes to the strengthening, while in tension, deformation twinning prevails and weakens the HEA nanowire.The tension–compression asymmetry exhibits a clear trend of increasing with the increasing nanowire cross-sectional edge length and decreasing temperature. In particular, the compressive strengths along the [001] and [111] crystallographic orientations are stronger than the tensile counterparts, while the [110] crystallographic orientation shows the exactly opposite trend. The dependences of tension–compression asymmetry on the cross-sectional edge length, crystallographic orientation,and temperature are explained in terms of the deformation behavior of HEA nanowire as well as its variations caused by the change in these influential factors. These findings may deepen our understanding of the tension–compression asymmetry of the BCC HEA nanowires.

Atomistic simulation of dynamical and defect properties of multiferroic hexagonal YMnO_3

Atomistic simulation has been performed to investigate the dynamical and defect properties of multiferroic hexagonal YMnO3 with newly developed interaction potentials. Dynamical calculation reveals that phonon vibrations of hexagonal YMnO3 are quite different from those of orthorhombic YMnO3. Defect calculation finds that O Frenkel is the most probable intrinsic disorder, and Mn antisite defect is favorable to exist, especially for Mn ions entering the Y2 sites. It is also found that holes prefer to localize at O2sites rather than at Mn3+ sites, while the electron can be localized at the Mn3+ site. The disproportionation of Mn3+ ions is unlikely to occur in hexagonal YMnO3.

Atomistic simulation of the coupled adsorption and unfolding of protein GB1 on the polystyrenes nanoparticle surface

Understanding the processes of protein adsorption/desorption on nanopartieles＇ surfaces is important for the development of new nanotechnology involving biomaterials; however, an atomistic resolution picture for these processes and for the simultaneous protein conformational change is missing. Here, we report the adsorption of protein GB 1 on a polystyrene nanoparticle surface using atomistic molecular dynamic simulations. Enabled by metadynamics, we explored the relevant phase space and identified three protein states, each involving both the adsorbed and desorbed modes. We also studied the change of the secondary and tertiary structures of GB 1 during adsorption and the dominant interactions between the protein and surface in different adsorption stages. The results we obtained from simulation were found to be more adequate and complete than the previous one. We believe the model presented in this paper, in comparison with the previous ones, is a better theoretical model to understand and explain the experimental results.

Atomistic simulation of tension deformation behavior in magnesium single crystal

The deformation behavior in magnesium single crystal under c-axis tension is investigated in a temperature range between 250 K and 570 K by molecular dynamics simulations. At a low temperature, twinning and shear bands are found to be the main deformation mechanisms. In particular, the {102} tension twins with the reorientation angle of about 90 °are observed in the simulations. The mechanisms of {102} twinning are illustrated by the simulated motion of atoms. Moreover, grain nucleation and growth are found to be accompanied with the {102} twinning. At temperatures above 450 K, the twin frequency decreases with increasing temperature. The {102} extension twin almost disappears at the temperature of 570 K. The non-basal slip plays an important role on the tensile deformation in magnesium single crystal at high temperatures.

Dislocation self-interaction in TiAl:Evolution of super-dislocation dipoles revealed by atomistic simulations

As one of the fundamental outcomes of dislocation self-interaction,dislocation dipoles have an important influence on the plastic deformation of materials,especially on fatigue and creep.In this work,superdislocation dipoles inγ-TiAl andα_(2)-Ti_(3)Al were systematically investigated by atomistic simulations,with a variety of dipole heights,orientations and annealing tempe ratures.The results indicate that non-screw super-dipoles transform into locally stable dipolar or reconstructed cores at low temperature,while into isolated or interconnected point defect clusters and stacking fault tetrahedra at high temperature via short-range diffu sion.Non-screw super-dipoles inγ-TiAl andα_(2)-Ti_(3)Al exhibit similar features as fcc and hcp metals,respectively.Generally,over long-term annealing where diffusion is significant,60°superdipoles inγ-TiAl are stable,whereas the stability of super-dipoles inα2-Ti3 Al increases with dipole height and orientation angle.The influence on mechanical properties can be well evaluated by integrating these results into mesoscale or constitutive models.

ATOMISTIC/CONTINUUM SIMULATION OF INTERFACIAL FRACTURE PART Ⅱ:ATOMISTIC/DISLOCATION/CONTINUUM SIMULATION

Coupled atomistic/dislocation/continuum simulation of interfacial fracture is performed in this paper.The model consists of a nanoscopic core made by atomistic assembly and a surrounding elastic continuum with discrete dislocations. Atomistic dislocations nucleate from the crack tip and move to the continuum layer where they glide according to the dislocation dynamics curve.An atoms/continuum overlapping belt is devised to facilitate the transition between the two scales.The continuum constraint on the atomic assembly is imposed through the mechanics at- mosphere along the overlapping belt.Transmissions of mechanics parameters such as displacements,stresses,masses and momenta across the belt are realized.The present model allows us to explore interfacial fracture processes under different mode mixity.The effect of atomistic zigzag interface on the fracture process is revealed:it hinders dislocation emission from the crack tip,especially under high mode mixity.

Strengthening-softening transition and maximum strength in Schwarz nanocrystals

Recently,a Schwarz crystal structure with curved grain boundaries(GBs)constrained by twin-boundary(TB)networks was discovered in nanocrystalline Cu through experiments and atomistic simulations.Nanocrystalline Cu with nanosized Schwarz crystals exhibited high strength and excellent thermal stability.However,the grainsize effect and associated deformation mechanisms of Schwarz nanocrystals remain unknown.Here,we performed large-scale atomistic simulations to investigate the deformation behaviors and grain-size effect of nanocrystalline Cu with Schwarz crystals.Our simulations showed that similar to regular nanocrystals,Schwarz nanocrystals exhibit a strengthening-softening transition with decreasing grain size.The critical grain size in Schwarz nanocrystals is smaller than that in regular nanocrystals,leading to a maximum strength higher than that of regular nanocrystals.Our simulations revealed that the softening in Schwarz nanocrystals mainly originates from TB migration(or detwinning)and annihilation of GBs,rather than GB-mediated processes(including GB migration,sliding and diffusion)dominating the softening in regular nanocrystals.Quantitative analyses of simulation data further showed that compared with those in regular nanocrystals,the GB-mediated processes in Schwarz nanocrystals are suppressed,which is related to the low volume fraction of amorphous-like GBs and constraints of TB networks.The smaller critical grain size arises from the suppression of GB-mediated processes.