Markus Ovaska

Quenched pinning and collective dislocation dynamics

Several experiments show that crystalline solids deform in a bursty and intermittent fashion. Power-law distributed strain bursts in compression experiments of micron-sized samples, and acoustic emission energies from larger-scale specimens, are the key signatures of the underlying critical-like collective dislocation dynamics - a phenomenon that has also been seen in discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations. Here we show, by performing large-scale two-dimensional DDD simulations, that the character of the dislocation avalanche dynamics changes upon addition of sufficiently strong randomly distributed quenched pinning centres, present e.g. in many alloys as immobile solute atoms. For intermediate pinning strength, our results adhere to the scaling picture of depinning transitions, in contrast to pure systems where dislocation jamming dominates the avalanche dynamics. Still stronger disorder quenches the critical behaviour entirely.

Thermal conductivity of wood: effect of fatigue treatment

The effect of fatigue treatment on the thermal conductivity of wood was studied. Fresh Norway spruce samples both with and without fatigue were analyzed in a temperature rise experiment by means of an infrared camera. The experimental temperature profiles were compared to finite-element simulations of heat conduction. The temporal features of temperature profiles indicate an increase in the conductivity of fatigued wood, which points to changes in the cellular structure of wood. The importance of fatigue for thermal conductivity and consequently for mechanical pulp-making is discussed.

Deformation and fracture of echinoderm collagen networks

Collagen networks provide the main structural component of most tissues and represent an important ingredient for bio-mimetic materials for bio-medical applications. Here we study the mechanical properties of stiff collagen networks derived from three different echinoderms and show that they exhibit non-linear stiffening followed by brittle fracture. The disordered nature of the network leads to strong sample-to-sample fluctuations in elasticity and fracture strength. We perform numerical simulations of a three dimensional model for the deformation of a cross-linked elastic fibril network which is able to reproduce the macroscopic features of the experimental results and provide insights into the internal mechanics of stiff collagen networks. Our numerical model provides an avenue for the design of collagen membranes with tunable mechanical properties.

Influence of strain rate, temperature and fatigue on the radial compression behaviour of Norway spruce

Abstract A dynamic elastoplastic compression model of Norway spruce for virtual computer optimization of mechanical pulping processes was developed. The empirical wood behaviour was fitted to a Voigt-Kelvin material model, which is based on quasi static compression and high strain rate compression tests (QSCT and HSRT, respectively) of wood at room temperature and at high temperature (80–100°C). The effect of wood fatigue was also included in the model. Wood compression stress-strain curves have an initial linear elastic region, a plateau region and a densification region. The latter was not reached in the HSRT. Earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) contributions were considered separately. In the radial direction, the wood structure is layered and can well be modelled by serially loaded layers. The EW model was a two part linear model and the LW was modelled by a linear model, both with a strain rate dependent term. The model corresponds well to the measured values and this is the first compression model for EW and LW that is based on experiments under conditions close to those used in mechanical pulping.

A surface topography analysis of the curling stone curl mechanism

The curling motion of the curling stone on ice is well-known: if a small clockwise rotational velocity is imposed to the stone when it is released, in addition to the linear propagation velocity, the stone will curl to the right. A similar curl to the left is obtained by counter-clockwise rotation. This effect is widely used in the game to reach spots behind the already thrown stones, and the rotation also causes the stone to propagate in a more predictable fashion. Here, we report on novel experimental results which support one of the proposed theories to account for the curling motion of the stone, known as the “scratch-guiding theory”. By directly scanning the ice surface with a white light interferometer before and after each slide, we observed cross-scratches caused by the leading and trailing parts of the circular contact band of the linearly moving and rotating stone. By analyzing these scratches and a typical curling stone trajectory, we show that during most of the slide, the transverse force responsible for the sideways displacement of the stone is linearly proportional to the angle between these cross-scratches.

Excitation Spectra in Crystal Plasticity

Plastically deforming crystals exhibit scale-free fluctuations that are similar to those observed in driven disordered elastic systems close to depinning, but the nature of the yielding critical point is still debated. Here, we study the marginal stability of ensembles of dislocations and compute their excitation spectrum in two and three dimensions. Our results show the presence of a singularity in the distribution of excitation stresses, i.e., the stress needed to make a localized region unstable, that is remarkably similar to the one measured in amorphous plasticity and spin glasses. These results allow us to understand recent observations of extended criticality in bursty crystal plasticity and explain how they originate from the presence of a pseudogap in the excitation spectrum.

Avalanches in 2D dislocation systems without applied stresses

We study avalanches in two-dimensional ensembles of discrete dislocations subject to zero or small finite constant external stresses. These systems respond to local perturbations by exhibiting bursts of collective dislocation activity characterised by power-law distributions of various measures of sizes and durations of the avalanches. The cut-offs of these distributions diverge with the system size even for zero applied stresses. The avalanches are found to display slow, glass-like relaxation dynamics following the initial excitation, with the average avalanche shape depending on the avalanche duration.