A molecular dynamics study of fracture behavior in magnesium single crystal

The analysis of crack growth in magnesium crystals was performed using molecular dynamics simulation with Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potentials. Four specimens with increasing sizes were used to investigate the influences of material length scale on crack growth of magnesium single crystals. Furthermore, the effects of temperature, loading strain rate, and the size of the initial crack were also verified. The specimens were subjected to uniaxial tension strain up to the total strain level of 0.2 with a constant strain rate of 10(9)s(-1) except in the studies of strain rate effects and the uniaxial stress strain curve was monitored. The simulation results show that the specimen size, loading strain rate, temperature, and the size of initial crack strongly influence the yield strength at which the twin nucleated and subsequently the crack grew. The initial slope of the uniaxial stress strain curve is independent of the loading strain rate and temperature. Moreover, high temperatures induce increased atomic mobility, and thereby atom reorganization, which, in turn, releases the stress at the crack tip