Shear-transformation-zone theory of yielding in athermal amorphous materials

Journal Article · Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.92.012318· OSTI ID:1223678

Langer, J. S. ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)

Yielding transitions in athermal amorphous materials undergoing steady-state shear flow resemble critical phenomena. Historically, they have been described by the Herschel-Bulkley rheological formula, which implies singular behaviors at yield points. In this paper, I examine this class of phenomena using an elementary version of the thermodynamic shear-transformation-zone (STZ) theory, focusing on the role of the effective disorder temperature, and paying special attention to scaling and dimensional arguments. I find a wide variety of Herschel-Bulkley-like rheologies but, for fundamental reasons not specific to the STZ theory, conclude that the yielding transition is not truly critical. Specifically, for realistic many-body models with short-range interactions, there is a correlation length that grows rapidly but ultimately saturates near the yield point.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725; AC05-00OR-22725
• OSTI ID: 1223678
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1198731
• Journal Information: Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, Vol. 92, Issue 1; ISSN 1539-3755
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE