DyFraNet: Forecasting and backcasting dynamic fracture mechanics in space and time using a 2D-to-3D deep neural network

Abstract

The dynamics of material failure is a critical phenomenon relevant to a range of scientific and engineering fields, from healthcare to structural materials. We propose a specially designed deep neural network, DyFraNet, which can predict dynamic fracture behaviors by identifying a complete history of fracture propagation—from the onset of cracking, as a crack grows through the material, modeled as a series of frames evolving over time and dependent on each other. Furthermore, the model can not only forecast future fracture processes but also backcast to elucidate past fracture histories. In this scenario, once provided with the outcome of a fracture event, the model will reveal past events that led to this state and can also predict future evolutions of the failure process. By comparing the predicted results with atomistic-level simulations and theory, we show that DyFraNet can capture dynamic fracture mechanics by accurately predicting how cracks develop over time, including measures such as the crack speed, as well as when cracks become unstable. We use Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping, Grad-CAM, to interpret how DyFraNet perceives the relationship between geometric conditions and fracture dynamics, and we find that DyFraNet pays special attention to the areas around crack tips that have a critical influence in the early stage of fracture propagation. In later stages, the model pays increased attention to the existing or newly formed damaged regions in the material. The proposed approach offers the potential to accelerate the exploration of dynamical processes in material design against failure and can be adapted for all kinds of dynamical problems.