Atomistic study of anisotropic effect on two-dimensional dynamic crack

We adopt molecular dynamics (MD) method to extensively study the dynamical process during the crack propagation along two crystallographic directions in the two-dimensional close-packed system. The dependence of crack initiation time on the loading rates is investigated in comparison with continuum analysis. By calculating the displacement and stress field, the results are in excellent agreement with the asymptotic continuum solution of low-speed propagating crack. Moreover, the crack-tip velocity is numerically attained and associated with the instability of crack surface morphology, which results from the strongly anisotropic behavior. Further analysis remarkably observes the crack-branching healing process in that the dislocation emission absorbs the concentrated strain energy of crack tip.