Abstract
The pattern development of multiple cracks in bilayer or multilayer 2D crystals encompasses rich yet largely unexplored physics. We study crack interactions across neighboring 2D layers using in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. In bilayer 2D crystals, parallel cracks attract while anti-parallel (‘En-Passant’) cracks repel, sharply contrasting with co-planar cracks. Beyond fracture toughening, interlayer slip alters crack driving forces by adding an antisymmetric shear component to the stress intensity factor. Supported by experimental observations and simulation results, we present a theoretical framework that integrates linear elastic fracture mechanics with the shear-lag model to guide the engineering of fracture patterns and improvement of material resistance to cracking. © 2025 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 106242 |
| Journal | Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids |
| Volume | 203 |
| Online published | 25 Jun 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2025 |
Funding
We acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China through grants 12425201, 52090032, 52173230, and 12402128, theNational Key Basic Research Program of China grant No. 2022YFA1205400, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation through grant GZC20241129, and the Hong Kong Research Grant Council General Research Fund through grants 15302522 and 15301623. The computation was performed on the Explorer 1000 cluster system of the Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology.
Research Keywords
- Fracture patterns
- Crack interaction
- 2D crystals
- Interlayer coupling
- Linear elastic fracture mechanics
- Shear-lag model
RGC Funding Information
- RGC-funded
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