Single-atom Pt sites stabilized by aniline stacked on graphene exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and durability for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

a b s t r a c tAn interaction (energy) integral is derived for the computation of mixed-mode stress intensity factors (SIFs) in nonhomogeneous materials with continuous or discontinuous properties. This method is based on a conservation integral that relies on two admissible mechanical states (actual and auxiliary fields). In general, the interaction energy contour integral is converted into an equivalent domain integral in numerical computations. It can be seen from the equivalent domain integral, the integrand does not involve any derivatives of material properties. Moreover, the formulation can be proved valid even when the integral domain contains material interfaces. Therefore, it is not necessary to limit the material properties to be continuous for the present method. Due to these advantages the application range of the interaction integral method can be greatly enlarged. The numerical implementation of the derived expression is combined with the extended finite element method (XFEM). Using this method, the influences of material properties on the mixed-mode SIFs are investigated for four types of material properties selected in this work. Numerical results show that the mechanical properties and their first-order derivatives can affect mode I and II SIFs greatly, while the higher-order derivatives affect the SIFs very slightly.

An experimentally validated micro-scale analysis of the visco-thermo-mechanical behavior of polymer matrix composites under different loads is proposed. A new constitutive law for the matrix material is developed taking into account the pressure dependence of the material as well as strain-rate and temperature dependence. Capturing the matrix behavior under multi-axial stress states is concluded to be essential to accurately predict the composite material behavior, even when considering simple load cases such as transverse compression and/or shear. Without any calibration procedure at the composite level, good agreement with the experimental data is observed for different loading conditions, including strain-rate dependency. Using this validated micro-scale model, a three-dimensional simulation of the formation of a kink band under longitudinal compression of the composite is conducted. A new evidence at micro-scale is found supporting the hypothesis that shear stresses transferred between fibers and matrix are particularly important in the formation of the kink band.

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A new model, piecewise-exponential model (PE model), is developed to investigate the crack problem of the functionally graded materials (FGMs) with arbitrary properties. In the PE model, the functionally graded material is divided into some nonhomogeneous layers along the gradient direction of the properties, with each layer's properties varying exponentially. By this way, the real material properties can be approached by a series of exponential functions. Since the real material properties are used on both surfaces of each nonhomogeneous layer, the nature of continuously varying properties of FGMs can be approached accurately. The influences of the local nonhomogeneity on the crack-tip fields can be fully considered. By using the new model, the fracture problem of a functionally graded strip with arbitrary properties and a crack vertical to the free surfaces is studied. The integral transform method, the theory of residues and the theory of singular integral equation are applied. Some representative samples with different kinds of nonhomogeneous properties are analyzed and the corresponding stress intensity factors (SIFs) are presented. It is shown that the PE mode is effective for investigating the crack problems of the FGMs with arbitrary properties.

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