Modes of failures in disordered solids

Abstract

The two principal ingredients determining the failure modes of disordered solids are the level of heterogeneity and the length scale of the region affected in the solid following a local failure. While the latter facilitates damage nucleation, the former leads to diffused damage, the two extreme failure modes. In this study, using the random fiber bundle model as a prototype for disorder solids, we classify every failure modes that are the results of interplay between these two effects. We obtain scaling criteria for the different modes and propose a general phase diagram that provides a framework for understanding previous theoretical and experimental attempts of interpolation between these modes.