Related papers: Fracturing the optimal paths
The evolution and spatial structure of displacement fronts in fractures with self-affine rough walls are studied by numerical simulations. The fractures are open and the two faces are identical but shifted along their mean plane, either…
We investigate the fragmentation process of solid materials with crystalline and amorphous phases using the discrete element method. Damage initiates inside spherical samples above the contact zone in a region where the circumferential…
We investigate dynamic crack propagation and fragmentation with the phase-field fracture approach. The method was chosen for its ability to yield crack paths that are independent of the underlying mesh, thanks to the damage regularization…
The phase field paradigm, in combination with a suitable variational structure, has opened a path for using Griffith's energy balance to predict the fracture of solids. These so-called phase field fracture methods have gained significant…
Most of the research concerting crack propagation in discrete media is concerned with specific types of external loading: displacements on the boundaries, or constant energy fluxes or feeding waves originating from infinity. In this paper…
Various kinds of heterogeneity in solids including atomistic discreteness affect the fracture strength as well as the failure dynamics remarkably. Here we study the effects of an initial crack in a discrete model for fracture in…
We introduce a model for the dynamics of mud cracking in the limit of of extremely thin layers. In this model the growth of fracture proceeds by selecting the part of the material with the smallest (quenched) breaking threshold. In…
We present an extension of fiber bundle models considering that failed fibers still carry a fraction $0 \leq \alpha \leq 1$ of their failure load. The value of $\alpha$ interpolates between the perfectly brittle failure $(\alpha = 0)$ and…
This paper presents a computational framework for quasi-static brittle fracture in three dimensional solids. The paper set outs the theoretical basis for determining the initiation and direction of propagating cracks based on the concept of…
We analyze the statistics of the shortest and fastest paths on the road network between randomly sampled end points. To a good approximation, these optimal paths are found to be directed in that their lengths (at large scales) are linearly…
We study the high-velocity regime mode-I fracture instability when small microbranches start to appear near the main crack, using large scale simulations. Some of the features of those microbranches have been reproduced qualitatively in…
Large networked systems are constantly exposed to local damages and failures that can alter their functionality. The knowledge of the structure of these systems is however often derived through sampling strategies whose effectiveness at…
Through research conducted in this study, a network approach to the correlation patterns of void spaces in rough fractures (crack type II) was developed. We characterized friction networks with several networks characteristics. The…
We have developed different network approaches to analyze complex patterns of frictional interfaces (contact area developments). Network theory is a fundamental tool for the modern understanding of complex systems in which, by a simple…
The dynamics of a crack propagating in an elastic inhomogeneous material is investigated. The variations of the average crack velocity with the external loading are measured for a brittle rock and are shown to display two distinct regimes:…
Fracture behavior in architected materials can be influenced by heterogeneities, yet the mechanisms by which imperfections affect crack propagation remain poorly understood. In this study, we introduce well-controlled, localized defects in…
Multi-phase materials, such as composite materials, exhibit multiple competing failure mechanisms during the growth of a macroscopic defect. For the simulation of the overall fracture process in such materials, we develop a two-phase spring…
The fracture resistance of structures is optimised using the level-set method. Fracture resistance is assumed to be related to the elastic energy released by a crack propagating in a normal direction from parts of the boundary which are in…
Brittle fracturing of materials is common in natural and industrial processes over a variety of length scales. Knowledge of individual particle dynamics is vital to obtain deeper insight into the atomistic processes governing crack…
Fractures form the main pathways for flow in the subsurface within low-permeability rock. For this reason, accurately predicting flow and transport in fractured systems is vital for improving the performance of subsurface applications.…