Geometry-dependent crack interaction and toughening in graphene

Abstract The interaction between neighboring cracks has been shown to strongly influence the fracture behavior of graphene. While previous studies focused primarily on crack spacing, the role of crack width remains poorly understood. Here, computational simulations are performed to investigate the coupled effects of crack width and inter-crack spacing $$(W_\text {gap})$$ ( W gap ) on the tensile response of graphene containing parallel cracks. The results show that increasing crack width amplifies the sensitivity of mechanical properties to crack spacing, leading to significant enhancement of peak stress, fracture strain, and toughness at sufficiently large $$W_\text {gap}$$ W gap . For narrow cracks, crack coalescence dominates and causes brittle failure. In contrast, wider cracks promote delayed ligament rupture and increased energy absorption, which are referred to as ductile-like fracture behavior. The normalized toughness and fracture strain exceed those of equivalent single-crack systems by more than twofold. A heat-map summarizes how peak stress and toughness change with crack width, spacing, and chirality.