Mode III Fracture Toughness of Single Layer Graphene Sheet Using Molecular Mechanics

An atomistic-based finite bond element model for predicting the tearing mode (mode III) fracture of a single-layer graphene sheet (SLGS) is developed. The model uses the modified Morse potential for predicting the maximum strain relationship of graphene sheets. The mode III fracture of graphene under out-of-plane shear loading is investigated with extensive molecular mechanics simulations. Molecular mechanics is used for describing the displacements of atoms in the area near a crack tip, and linear elastic fracture mechanics is used outside this area. This work shows that the molecular mechanics method can provide a reliable and yet simple method for determining not only the shear properties of SLGS but also its mode III fracture toughness in the armchair and the zigzag directions; the determined mode III fracture toughness values of SLGS are 0.86MPa√m and 0.93MPa√m, respectively