Stage M2 - 6 mois
Objectives: The internship will consist of setting up and performing molecular simulations of silica glass fracturing. The student will be able to draw on the extensive existing literature to choose a suitable interatomic potential and generate glass structures. Existing studies dedicated more specifically to glass fracturing have shown that the crack front is not regular and propagation is intermittent, which are direct consequences of the material’s heterogeneity [1]. The aim will be to statistically characterize the propagation events. Crack initiation, which has been little studied to date, will also be explored in this internship. In collaboration with the DURABLE project team, an inverse analysis is planned to better understand the effect of heterogeneity on the fracturing process and to propose a simplified continuous model based on a variational formulation of cohesive zone models.
Candidate profile: This internship is open to Master’s students or final-year engineering students studying mechanical engineering or material science, with a keen interest in numerical modeling and fracture physics. Prior knowledge of molecular simulation is a plus, but not essential: proficiency with these methods can be acquired during the internship. The work, at the interface between mechanics, physics, and numerical simulation, will be particularly suitable for a candidate motivated by multi-scale approaches and issues related to a detailed understanding of fracture mechanisms.
Supervision: The internship, lasting 4 to 6 months, will take place at the Navier Laboratory, under the supervision of Valeryia Kanavalava (PhD candidate), Laurent Brochard (researcher), and Mathias Lebihain (researcher, coordinator of the ANR project DURABLE) , in collaboration with Djimedo Kondo (Sorbonne Université).