Laser induced dynamic fracture of fused silica: Experiments and simulations

Fused silica samples were subjected to laser induced shock loading. Laser flux was varied in order to obtain different amounts and characteristics of damage in the samples. Three dimensional damage and fracture maps of two identical samples impacted by high and low laser flux values were obtained using both optical microscopy and X-ray computed micro-tomography. Three prevalent fracture and damage patterns were identified. Peridynamic approach was used to simulate the laser impact conditions on the samples in order to explain the causes of the observed fracture and damage morphologies. A proprietary shock physics code, ESTHER, was used to calculate the transient kinetic energy imparted to the samples based on the experimental laser flux values. The kinetic energy values were then integrated over time and provided target values to match for the peridynamic impact conditions. The main fracture patterns were captured by peridynamic simulations with reasonable quantitative accuracy. Explanations for initiation and propagation of each of the fracture patterns were presented based on the peridynamic dynamic fracture simulations. Limitations of the computational approach and recommendations for future work is provided.