Fig. 3: Local mobility and restoration of mechanical properties.
Local mobility \(\left\langle {u}^{2}\right\rangle\) for particles on the crack surface and bulk as a function of time t for polymer glasses subjected to oscillatory deformations of γA = 1.0 and γAω = 0.1, with a cylindrical crack of diameter (a) D/d = 1.0 and b D/d = 2.0. Horizontal lines represent the bulk local mobility as a function of T at mechanical rest. Circles highlight the times at which the snapshots were taken, represented on the right. The crack region is represented in light gray, whereas dark gray beads correspond to beads on the crack surface. c The healed system at ω = 0.1 and different γA values is subjected to steady shear flow at shear rate \(\dot{\gamma }=0.01\). The resulting stress tensor is compared with the stress curve of the glass at rest, showing that mechanical properties are recovered.
