Multiscale Modeling and Mechanics of 2D Layered Crystals

Open Access
- Author:
- Zhao, Peng
- Graduate Program:
- Engineering Science and Mechanics
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- November 05, 2018
- Committee Members:
- The Pennsylvania State University, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Sulin Zhang, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Long-Qing Chen, Committee Member
Mark William Horn, Committee Member
Vincent Henry Crespi, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Multiscale Modeling
2D Material
Finite Crystal Elasticity - Abstract:
- The two-dimensional (2D) material library has been expanding ever since the first successful isolation of graphene. Beyond the excessive research on each type graphene-like crystal, vertically stacked 2D materials, or, van der Waals heterostructures, has attracted tremendous research interests due to those unique properties and potentials they promise. Such a great push, however, requires for the in-depth understanding of the different stacking geometries and material choices, and the fundamental physical mechanisms behind them, which enables developing new device concepts and applications which would have been difficult to achieve with other material platforms. From the mechanics’ point of view, this dissertation contributes to the multiscale modeling of stacked 2D materials. The ease of out-of-plane bending in 2D layers allows new types of low- energy linear defects that are absent from bulk crystals: wrinkles, ripples and crumples that arise from interlayer lattice mismatch, providing a rich mechanical environment due to the geometrical challenge of accommodating the curvature energy and the interlayer interactions. Though detailed atomistic simulations in microscale, the morphology, energetics, mobility, and controllability of such defect in stacked 2D materials are investigated, which provides concepts of the design of novel origami-based structures. A quasi-continuum theory for analysis of mechanics of stacked 2D system is presented. The traditional methods of crystal elasticity are extended by introducing the atomic resolution to deal with registry effect of crystal structures. A homogenized finite crystal elasticity modeling is firstly developed, as an extension of the exponential Cauchy-Born rule. The model enables simulations for 2D stacked heterostructures. Borrowing the idea of diffusive molecular dynamics (DMD) and phase field crystal (PFC), a generalization of the variational Gaussian method on non- bonded energy, the Gaussian averaged interlayer potential is developed and is the key to the theory. This methodology allows us to formulate a quasi-continuum relation for continua of reduced dimensionality (lines, surfaces) exclusively regarding the underlying lattice structure and possess the same crystal symmetry. These models are shown to very accurately mimic the discrete parent model within full atomic resolutions. The theory is applied to the mechanics of bilayer graphene. Since the continuum model is discretized with finite element approximation, it provides a computationally advantageous alternative to atomistic calculations. Besides, the resolution can also be tuned by altering the number of grids and length scale, indicating multi-scale modeling capabilities.