Study on the Shear Behaviour and Fracture Characteristic of Graphene Kirigami Membranes via Molecular Dynamics Simulation

In this study, we aimed to provide systematic and critical research to investigate the shear performance and reveal the corresponding structural response and fracture characteristics of the monolayer GK membrane. The results demonstrate that the kirigami structure significant alters the shear performance of graphene-based sheets. Tuning the porosity by controlling the incision size, pore distribution, and incision direction can effectively adjust the shear strength and elastic modulus of GK membranes. The trade-off of the stress and strain of the GK membrane is critical to its shear behaviour. The microstructural damage processes and failure characteristics further reveal that making more carbon atoms on the GK structure sharing the strain energy is the key to reinforcing the shear performance of membranes. Based on this, we found that adding the shear loading in the direction of perpendicular to the incisions on the GK membrane can significantly improve the shear strength and stiffness of the membrane by 26.2-32.1% and 50.2-75.3% compared to applying shear force parallel to GK incisions. This research not only broadens the understanding of shear properties of monolayer GO membrane but also provides more reference on the fracture characteristics of GK membranes for future manufacturing and applications.

Automated summary

This study provides systematic and critical research on the shear performance and fracture characteristics of monolayer GK membranes. The findings show that the kirigami structure significantly alters the shear performance of graphene-based sheets, and adjusting the porosity by controlling the incision size and direction can effectively modify the shear strength and elastic modulus. Furthermore, it is revealed that reinforcing the shear performance of membranes relies on sharing strain energy among more carbon atoms on the GK structure. The study also demonstrates that applying shear loading perpendicular to the incisions on the GK membrane can substantially improve the shear strength and stiffness.