Research stay at the Institut de Physique de Rennes
Felix Weber visited Dr. Maxime Vassaux at the Institut de Physique de Rennes (IPR) for five weeks. During this research visit, Maxime and Felix discussed and performed multiscale fracture simulations of silica glass using the Capriccio method. The focus was on analyzing the structural (e.g., radial/angular distribution function and ring sizes) and mechanical (e.g., critical stress intensity factor) properties of oxide glasses during crack propagation and on suitable virtual experimental setups that are comparable to real experiments. For Felix, it was very valuable to visit the laboratories and see real fracture mechanics experiments on glasses that are carried out at the IPR. During Felix’ stay, Sebastian Pfaller visited Maxime and Felix in Rennes to hold a joint seminar and to have fruitful discussions with the scientists conducting research at IPR. Sebastian and Felix were able to experience the culture of Rennes first hand by visiting one of the city’s impressive markets and a church service, which culminated in a course on preparing and eating oysters taught by Maxime. During a visit to the historic French port city of Saint-Malo, Maxime, Sebastian and Felix reflected on the topics they had been working on in the previous weeks. Two highlights of the scientific activities in Rennes for Felix were attending the PhDay at IPR, where PhD students gave talks on their research topics, and his own presentation of the current state of the collaboration with Maxime at the IPR’s non-permanent seminar. In summary, the research stay in Rennes was a great success and has intensified the collaboration between the Capriccio group and IPR.