Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying a phenomenon called a flow-stress upturn—in which material strength can abruptly soar as the applied strain rate increases—have hit upon an atomic-level explanation that may lead to a set of general principles.Those principles should apply to many kinds of materials and ultimately could help explain phenomena including the breakdown of concrete or metal structures under sudden stress.
The research, by associate professor Bilge Yildiz, professor emeritus Sidney Yip and Ph.D. candidate Yue Fan, will be published in the journal Physical Review Letters.