DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF CRACK PROPAGATION WITH DISLOCATION EMISSION AND MIGRATION

We present a simulation procedure for fracture that self-consistently accounts for dislocation emission, dislocation migration and crack growth. We find that the dislocation microstructure in front of the crack tip is highly organized and shows a complex temporal-spatial evolution. The final dislocation microstructure and the number of emitted dislocations immediately proceeding fracture varies rapidly with the loading rate. For high loading rates, fracture occurs at smaller loads with increasing loading rate. However, the load at fracture shows a maximum with respect to loading rates.