Molecular Dynamics-Based Cohesive Zone Model for Mg/Mg₁₇Al₁₂ Interface

Abstract

The fracture of the Mg/Mg17Al12 interface was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The interface crack extends in a brittle manner without noticeable plasticity. The distributions of normal stress and separation along the interface were examined to render a quantitative picture of the fracture process. A normal traction–separation curve was extracted from simulation and compared with three cohesive zone models, i.e., cubic polynomial cohesive zone model, exponential cohesive zone model, and bilinear cohesive zone model. The exponential cohesive zone model exhibits the best agreement with simulation results, followed by the bilinear cohesive zone model.

Keywords

• molecular dynamics simulation
• cohesive zone model
• Mg/Mg₁₇Al₁₂ interface
• fracture