Effect of surface roughness and incident angle on critical velocity in projectile-graphene impact

HT Hei and J Wang and YG Zheng and HF Ye, COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE, 259, 114205 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.commatsci.2025.114205

Collisions at the micro- and nanoscale can exhibit adhesion behaviour, distinct from macroscopic impacts. This phenomenon is particularly crucial for thin membrane materials in diverse natural and engineered systems. The critical conditions for graphene adhesion upon impact by a rigid metallic projectile is investigated through molecular dynamics simulation. A theoretical method to predict the critical adhesion velocity of projectiles is proposed, and an analytical expression for the critical graphene size required for adhesion is derived. The critical adhesion velocity is predicted based on the velocity of the projectile upon entering the post-rebound phase and its associated energy loss. The critical adhesion velocity is influenced by the projectile radius, surface roughness, graphene thickness and interaction strength. Furthermore, the critical graphene size depends on the projectile radius, graphene thickness, and the density ratio of the projectile to graphene. This study provides fundamental insights into the multiscale collision phenomena and offers practical strategies for nanodevices design.

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