ATOMISTIC STUDIES OF VOID-GROWTH BASED YIELD CRITERIA IN SINGLE CRYSTAL CU AT HIGH STRAIN RATES.

Dynamic fracture of ductile metals is attributed to the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of voids which eventually form the fracture surface. Large-scale MD simulations are used to model void growth behavior in single crystal Cu at high strain rates. Yielding is studied for systems with various values of void fractions as well as combinations of loading conditions. The calculated yield surface of single crystal Cu for varying void fractions indicates the inability of traditional continuum models to predict void growth at high strain rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]