Journal Article

A mathematical study of the influences of dynamic parameters on the memory effect of glasses

Li, Yan Zhuo, Bian, Xiao Min, Fu, Hao

2023

Overview

Retaining an imprint of their thermal history is a hallmark of glassy materials. Although its microscopic origin is still in debate, this memory effect is the potential to be utilized in engineering applications as a way to rejuvenate the glasses. For a better understanding of it, we investigated how the memory effect is affected by non-exponentiality and non-linearity, which are two basic features of glass dynamics. A mathematical model with a linear superposition of relaxation functions at a series of experienced temperatures was employed to reproduce the memory effect. The results demonstrate that non-exponentiality has a leading role in determining memory behaviors while non-linearity influences it weakly. An enhanced memory effect found in a recent multistep temperature training experiment is understood with the decreasing non-exponentiality caused by the increasing dynamical heterogeneities of the system. This work provides a guide to regulating the memory effect in practical applications.

• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Subject: Nonlinearity / Physics