Dynamics of wing cracks and nanoscale damage in glass

We investigate initiation, growth, and healing of wing cracks in confined silica glass by molecular dynamics simulations. Under dynamic compression, frictional sliding of precrack surfaces nucleates nanovoids which evolve into nanocrack columns at the precrack tip. Nanocrack columns merge to form a wing crack, which grows via coalescence with nanovoids in the direction of maximum compression. Lateral confinement arrests the growth and partially heals the wing crack. Growth and arrest of the wing crack occur repeatedly, as observed in dynamic compression experiments on brittle solids under lateral confinement.