Unveiling the Atomistic Mechanisms of Shear-Induced LDA$\leftrightarrow$HDA Transformations and Shear Banding in Amorphous Silicon under High Pressures

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Chen, Hao, Levitas, Valery I., Liu, Tengyi, Lu, Jingyu, Zhu, Rui, Zhang, Zhongqiang
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Chen, Hao
Levitas, Valery I.
Liu, Tengyi
Lu, Jingyu
Zhu, Rui
Zhang, Zhongqiang
author_facet Chen, Hao
Levitas, Valery I.
Liu, Tengyi
Lu, Jingyu
Zhu, Rui
Zhang, Zhongqiang
contents Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of shear deformation under constant pressures of amorphous silicon, PT from low-density-amorphous (LDA) to high-density-amorphous (HDA) Si, and formation of shear bands (SBs) are performed using the state-of-the-art Gaussian Approximation Potential. The simulations reveal that LDA$\leftrightarrow$HDA shear-induced PTs occur simultaneously until reaching steady state. The developed mechanism-based analytical model well describes shear-strain-governed kinetics and steady states at all pressures, independent of shear stresses. Shear reduces the pressure for initiation and completion of LDA$\rightarrow$HDA PT by $4.36$ and $5.10$ GPa, respectively. Without PT at low pressure, shear-banding occurs, which is partially suppressed by PT at higher pressure with uniform deformation-PT at $9.8$ GPa. Despite the much larger shear and expected fraction of HDA, surprising sharp drop in the HDA atomic fraction within the SB was discovered. In bulk, Si deforms by atomic rearrangement in localized shear transformation zones with high nonaffine displacements, which trigger nucleation of HDA clusters within LDA and, concurrently, of LDA clusters within HDA, without growth and coalescence. In SB, a turbulent-like flow with swirls is revealed, which promotes reverse PT from HDA$\rightarrow$LDA more effectively. Transformation-induced plasticity in amorphous Si is revealed. The findings open up basic research into the mechanisms and kinetics of plastic strain-induced PTs in amorphous materials under high pressure, with numerous important applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_04521
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unveiling the Atomistic Mechanisms of Shear-Induced LDA$\leftrightarrow$HDA Transformations and Shear Banding in Amorphous Silicon under High Pressures
Chen, Hao
Levitas, Valery I.
Liu, Tengyi
Lu, Jingyu
Zhu, Rui
Zhang, Zhongqiang
Materials Science
Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of shear deformation under constant pressures of amorphous silicon, PT from low-density-amorphous (LDA) to high-density-amorphous (HDA) Si, and formation of shear bands (SBs) are performed using the state-of-the-art Gaussian Approximation Potential. The simulations reveal that LDA$\leftrightarrow$HDA shear-induced PTs occur simultaneously until reaching steady state. The developed mechanism-based analytical model well describes shear-strain-governed kinetics and steady states at all pressures, independent of shear stresses. Shear reduces the pressure for initiation and completion of LDA$\rightarrow$HDA PT by $4.36$ and $5.10$ GPa, respectively. Without PT at low pressure, shear-banding occurs, which is partially suppressed by PT at higher pressure with uniform deformation-PT at $9.8$ GPa. Despite the much larger shear and expected fraction of HDA, surprising sharp drop in the HDA atomic fraction within the SB was discovered. In bulk, Si deforms by atomic rearrangement in localized shear transformation zones with high nonaffine displacements, which trigger nucleation of HDA clusters within LDA and, concurrently, of LDA clusters within HDA, without growth and coalescence. In SB, a turbulent-like flow with swirls is revealed, which promotes reverse PT from HDA$\rightarrow$LDA more effectively. Transformation-induced plasticity in amorphous Si is revealed. The findings open up basic research into the mechanisms and kinetics of plastic strain-induced PTs in amorphous materials under high pressure, with numerous important applications.
title Unveiling the Atomistic Mechanisms of Shear-Induced LDA$\leftrightarrow$HDA Transformations and Shear Banding in Amorphous Silicon under High Pressures
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04521