Size parameter calibration of nonlocal strain gradient theory based on molecular dynamics simulation of guided wave propagation in aluminum plates

Abstract

The nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) describes long-range interatomic interactions and higher-order strain gradients by introducing size parameters. However, the NSGT is constrained in studying the elastic wave propagation problems due to the difficulty in obtaining the precise size parameters. In this paper, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the elastic wave propagation in the aluminum nano-plate are conducted, and the size parameters in the NSGT are calibrated based on the MD simulation results. The MD simulation process is divided into three stages: relaxation, excitation, and free vibration analysis. The embedded atom method is used to describe the interactions between the metal atoms. During the MD simulations, appropriate boundary conditions and excitation methods are proposed to obtain the group velocities of the elastic bulk, Lamb and SH waves. In addition, based on the three-dimensional (3D) elasticity theory and analytical integration Legendre polynomial method, the theoretical dispersion curves of the elastic wave propagation in the NSGT model are obtained. It is found that both the nonlocal theory and the NSGT can predict the guided elastic wave group velocity, and the NSGT prediction and MD simulation can be well matched when the size parameters are restricted to a certain calibrated regional band. The vibration of atoms in the Lamb wave propagation process is more complex than that in the SH wave propagation, leading to a more substantial size effect on the Lamb wave dispersions.