Related papers: Fractographic aspects of crack branching instabili…
During brittle crack propagation, a smooth crack front curve frequently becomes disjoint, generating a stepped crack and a material ligament that unites the newly formed crack fronts. These universal features fundamentally alter the…
We employ a recently developed model that allows the study of two-dimensional brittle crack propagation under fixed grip boundary conditions. The crack development highlights the importance of voids which appear ahead of the crack as…
When fast cracks become unstable to microscopic branching (micro-branching), fracture no longer occurs in an effective 2D medium. We follow in-plane crack front dynamics via real-time measurements in brittle gels as micro-branching unfolds…
Phase-field fracture models provide a powerful approach to modeling fracture, potentially enabling the unguided prediction of crack growth in complex patterns. To ensure that only tensile stresses and not compressive stresses drive crack…
The phase field fracture method has emerged as a promising computational tool for modelling a variety of problems including, since recently, hydrogen embrittlement and stress corrosion cracking. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of…
We propose a full 3D benchmark problem for brittle fracture based on experiments as well as a validation in the context of phase-field models. The example consists of a series of four-point bending tests on graphite specimens with sharp…
We present a continuum theory which predicts the steady state propagation of cracks. The theory overcomes the usual problem of a finite time cusp singularity of the Grinfeld instability by the inclusion of elastodynamic effects which…
We present a phase field model (PFM) for simulating complex crack patterns including crack propagation, branching and coalescence in rock. The phase field model is implemented in COMSOL and is based on the strain decomposition for the…
Modeling the propagation of cracks at the microscopic level is fundamental to understand the effect of the microstructure on the fracture process. Nevertheless, microscopic propagation is often unstable and when using phase field fracture…
Brittle materials subjected to thermal shocks experience strong temperature gradients that in turn give rise to mechanical stresses that can be large enough to induce fracture. This work presents a complete model for phase-field fracture…
Crack initiation and propagation in elastic - perfectly plastic bodies is studied in a phase-field or variational gradient damage formulation. A rate-independent formulation that naturally couples elasticity, perfect plasticity and fracture…
We present a continuum phase-field model of crack propagation. It includes a phase-field that is proportional to the mass density and a displacement field that is governed by linear elastic theory. Generic macroscopic crack growth laws…
The phase-field approach to fracture has been proven to be a mathematically sound and easy to implement method for computing crack propagation with arbitrary crack paths. Hereby crack growth is driven by energy minimization resulting in a…
We perform fracture experiments on nanoscale phase separated glasses and measure crack surface roughness by atomic force microscopy. The ability of tuning the phase domain size by thermal treatment allows us to test thoroughly the…
In the phase-field modeling of brittle fracture, anisotropic constitutive assumptions for the degradation of stored elastic energy due to fracture are crucial to preventing cracking in compression and obtaining physically sound numerical…
The interaction of crack fronts with asperities is central to the criteria of fracture in heterogeneous materials and for predicting fracture surface formation. It is known how dynamic crack fronts respond to small, 1st-order,…
We address analytically and numerically the problem of crack path prediction in the model system of a crack propagating under thermal loading. We show that one can explain the instability from a straight to a wavy crack propagation by using…
The evolution of a crack front under mixed mode loading (I+III) is studied using a phase field model in 3 dimensions with no stress boundary conditions. As previously observed experimentally in gels, there is a relaxation toward a geometry…
Understanding the nature of brittle failure in ferroelectric materials is essential, but difficult due to the complex interaction between mechanical and electrical concentrated fields near the crack tip. In this work, an extended…
The two-dimensional oscillatory crack instability, experimentally observed in a class of brittle materials under strongly dynamic conditions, has been recently reproduced by a nonlinear phase-field fracture theory. Here we highlight the…