Understanding crack growth behavior in complex materials is critical to material design for damage tolerance. An advancing crack, by virtue of its stress field, modifies the microstructure ahead of it including include changes in dislocation density, interfaces modification, decohesion of interfaces, void nucleation, and phase transformation . Such changes in microstructure can in turn have a
The unique microstructure and properties of amorphous materials make them attractive candidates for applications such as precision components in micro-electro-mechanical systems. There is consequently great interest in fabricating sub-micron and nanoscale components of amorphous materials. This will require a thorough understanding of their properties.