UC Davis

A stochastic approach, using the Ising model combined with the Monte Carlo simulation, is employed to study the phenomenon of tongue tear failure in coated fabrics. The complicated mechanisms involved can be realistically simulated with a relatively simple algorithm. The important factors, especially the effects of the interphase between the coating and the fabric, and the stretched part of the material at the crack front (the del-zone) can be represented by corresponding coefficients in the Hamiltonian expression of the system. The minimization of the system Hamiltonian yields the most likely new steps for crack propagation, while the Monte Carlo method is used to select the one that will actually occur, reflecting the stochastic nature in the behaviour of real systems, indicating the usefulness of this approach in studies of similar interfacial phenomena. However, this model like many others needs to be calibrated based on data from a real system for quantitative and accurate predictions.