A STOCHASTIC-MODEL FOR CONTINUUM ELASTOPLASTIC BEHAVIOR .2. A STUDY OF THE GLASS-TRANSITION AND STRUCTURAL RELAXATION

The numerical approach, proposed by us in an associated paper, is further developed here to account for the processes of ordering and disordering in a 2D idealized elasto-plastic body. Study of the kinetic and structural aspects of such processes reveals various features characteristic of the glass transition and structural relaxations in real glasses. Results of numerical simulations and the relative glass-forming ability of liquids are discussed in terms of geometric and energetic parameters of local inelastic processes. Methods of obtaining and analyzing undercooled structures with controlled degrees of frozen-in disorder are developed.