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fix indent command

Syntax:

fix ID group-ID indent k keyword args ... 

Examples:

fix 1 all indent 10.0 sphere 0.0 0.0 15.0 3.0 vel 0.0 0.0 -1.0
fix 2 flow indent 10.0 cylinder z 0.0 0.0 10.0 units box 

Description:

Insert an indenter within a simulation box. The indenter repels all atoms that touch it, so it can be used to push into a material or as an obstacle in a flow.

The indenter can either be spherical or cylindrical. You must set one of those 2 keywords.

A spherical indenter exerts a force of magnitude

F(r) = - k (r - R)^2 

on each atom where k is the specified force constant, r is the distance from the atom to the center of the indenter, and R is the radius of the indenter. The force is repulsive and F(r) = 0 for r > R.

A cylindrical indenter exerts the same force, except that r is the distance from the atom to the center axis of the cylinder. The cylinder extends infinitely along its axis.

If the vel keyword is specified, the center (or axis) of the spherical (or cylindrical) indenter will move during the simulation, based on its initial position (x,y,z) and the specified (vx,vy,vz). Note that if you do multiple runs, the initial position of the indenter (x,y,z) does not change, so it will continue to move at the specified velocity.

If the rstart keyword is specified, then the radius of the indenter is a time-dependent quantity. R0 is the value assigned at the start of the run; R is the value at the end. At intermediate times, the radius is linearly interpolated between these two values. The run command documents how to make the interpolation take place across multiple runs. This option can be used, for example, to grow/shrink a void within the simulation box. This option is not relevant during an energy minimization; the indenter always has radius R in that case. Note that if you do multiple runs, you may need to re-specify the fix so that the indenter radius has the appropriate value. If you do nothing, it will be reset to R0 at the beginning of each run.

The units keyword determines the meaning of the distance units used to define the indenter. A box value selects standard distance units as defined by the units command, e.g. Angstroms for units = real or metal. A lattice value means the distance units are in lattice spacings. The lattice command must have been previously used to define the lattice spacing. Note that the units choice affects not only the indenter's physical geometry, but also its velocity and force constant since they are defined in terms of distance as well.

This fix makes a contribution to the potential energy of the system that can be included in thermodynamic output of potential energy using the fix_modify energy option. The energy of each particle interacting with the indenter is K/3 (r - R)^3. The contribution can also be printed by itself via the keyword f_fix-ID in the thermo_style custom command.

The forces due to this fix are also imposed during an energy minimization, invoked by the minimize command. If you want that energy to be included in the total potential energy of the system (the quantity being minimized), you must enable the fix_modify energy option for this fix.

Restrictions: none

Related commands: none

Default:

The option defaults are vel = 0,0,0 and units = lattice.