TY - JOUR
T1 - Breakdown of linear elastic fracture mechanics near the tip of a rapid crack
AU - Livne, Ariel
AU - Bouchbinder, Eran
AU - Fineberg, Jay
PY - 2008/12/22
Y1 - 2008/12/22
N2 - We present high resolution measurements of the displacement and strain fields near the tip of a dynamic (mode I) crack. The experiments are performed on polyacrylamide gels, brittle elastomers whose fracture dynamics mirror those of typical brittle amorphous materials. Over a wide range of propagation velocities (0.2-0.8cs), we compare linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) to the measured near-tip fields. We find that, sufficiently near the tip, the measured stress intensity factor appears to be nonunique, the crack tip significantly deviates from its predicted parabolic form, and the strains ahead of the tip are more singular than the r-1/2 divergence predicted by LEFM. These results show how LEFM breaks down as the crack tip is approached.
AB - We present high resolution measurements of the displacement and strain fields near the tip of a dynamic (mode I) crack. The experiments are performed on polyacrylamide gels, brittle elastomers whose fracture dynamics mirror those of typical brittle amorphous materials. Over a wide range of propagation velocities (0.2-0.8cs), we compare linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) to the measured near-tip fields. We find that, sufficiently near the tip, the measured stress intensity factor appears to be nonunique, the crack tip significantly deviates from its predicted parabolic form, and the strains ahead of the tip are more singular than the r-1/2 divergence predicted by LEFM. These results show how LEFM breaks down as the crack tip is approached.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58149347779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.264301
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.264301
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:58149347779
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 101
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
IS - 26
M1 - 264301
ER -