Rate effect and coupled evolution of atomic motions and potential landscapes

Since rate effect of materials plays a key role in impact engineering, the microscopic mechanism of rate effect is investigated at molecular level in this paper. The results show that rate effect on the strength of atomic system is closely related to the coupled evolution of atomic motions and potential landscapes. Accordingly, it becomes possible to develop a new algorithm of molecular simulation, which could properly and efficiently demonstrate strain rate effect under a wide range of loading rates and unveil the mechanisms underlying the strain rate effects.