Abstract
We study the approach to global breakdown in disordered media driven by increasing external forces. We first analyze the problem by mean-field theory, showing that the failure process can be described as a first-order phase transition, similarly to the case of thermally activated fracture in homogeneous media. Then we quantitatively confirm the predictions of the mean-field theory using numerical simulations of discrete models. Widely distributed avalanches and the corresponding mean-field scaling are explained by the long-range nature of elastic interactions. We discuss the analogy of our results to driven disordered first-order transitions and spinodal nucleation in magnetic systems.
Keywords
disordered media, phase transition
Subject Categories
Mean field theory
Disciplines
Physics
Publisher
American Physical Society
Publication Date
2-24-1997
Rights Information
©1997 American Physical Society
Rights Holder
American Physical Society
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Zapperi, S; Ray, P; Stanley, H E.; and Vespignani, A, "First-order transition in the breakdown of disordered media" (1997). Physics Faculty Publications. Paper 218. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20002178
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Notes
Originally published in Physical Review Letters, v.78 no.8 (1997), pp.1408-1411. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.1408. Dr. Vespignani is affiliated with Northeastern University as of the time of deposit.