We perform a large-scale statistical analysis (>2000 independent simulations) of the elongation and rupture of gold nanowires, probing the validity and scope of the recently proposed ductile-to-brittle transition that occurs with increasing nanowire length [Wu et al. Nano Lett. 2012, 12, 910-914]. To facilitate a high-throughput simulation approach, we implement the second-moment approximation ...

In order to design composites and laminated materials, it is necessary to understand the issues that govern crack deflection and crack penetration at interfaces. Historically, models of crack deflection have been developed using either a strength-based or an energy-based fracture criterion. However, in general, crack propagation depends on both strength and toughness. Therefore, in this paper, ...

Due to the miniaturization of integrated circuits, their thermo-mechanical reliability tends to become a truly critical design criterion. Especially the introduction of copper and low-k dielectric materials cause some reliability problems. Numerical simulation tools can assist developers to meet this challenge. This paper considers the first bond integrity during wire bond qualification testing...

Abstract Fluid-pressure cycles are commonly invoked to explain alternating frictional and viscous deformation at the base of seismogenic crust. However, stress conditions geological environment fluid-pressure cycling unclear. We address this problem by detailed structural investigation a vein-bearing shear zone Sagelvvatn, northern Norwegian Caledonides. In dominantly zone, synkinematic quartz ...

This paper presents the 2D and 3D numerical analysis of pullout tests on steel anchorages in concrete blocks using standard and mixed finite elements. A novel (stabilized) mixed formulation in the variables of total strain ε and displacements u is introduced to overcome the intrinsic deficiencies of the standard displacement-based one in the context of localization of strains, such as mesh depe...

An experimental and theoretical study of the fragmentation of plastic materials is presented. In the experiments polyxymethylen particles of spherical shape were fragmented by impacting them against a hard wall. The experiments revealed a power law distribution of fragment masses similar to heterogeneous brittle materials, however, with a significantly lower exponent. To understand the experime...