Principal Investigator Oral Buyukozturk
Co-investigators Hao Sun , Kunal Kupwade Patil , Robert W Haupt , Robert Shin , Huseyin Sadi Kuleli , Thomas Herring , M Toksöz , Ju Li , John Fisher , Fredo Durand , William Freeman , Christoph Reinhart , John Ochsendorf , Markus Buehler , Sidney Yip
Bi-layer material systems are present in various applications ranging from nanoscale components, such as thin films in circuit boards, to macroscale structures, such as adhesive bonding in aerospace and civil engineering. The strength of a bi-layer system depends on properties of both the interface and the constitutive materials. However, generally, the analytical and empirical formulae based on interfacial fracture mechanics have been limited to mechanical debonding and are unable to predict the fracture toughness and the crack propagation direction in bi-layer materials when chemical effects are involved. One of the important examples of this complex phenomenon is interfacial fracture under moisture effect. Water molecules may attack hydrogen bond at the interface, or alter molecular structure of substrates, resulting in weakened adhesive and cohesive strengths. Therefore, a more reliable method to predict the strength and crack propagation in bi-layer materials is required when environmental and chemical effects are involved. The objective of this project is to develop a methodology to apply molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to the study of interface fracture in bi-layer material systems with and without moisture effect. To extend the applicability of MD to meso-scale structure, a multi-scale analysis technique that combines MD and finite element modeling (FEM) will be developed.