Related papers: How moving cracks in brittle solids choose their p…

Conforming materials to rigid substrates with Gaussian curvature --- positive for spheres and negative for saddles --- has proven a versatile tool to guide the self-assembly of defects such as scars, pleats, folds, blisters, and liquid…

We propose a theoretical model for branching instabilities in 2-dimensional fracture, offering predictions for when crack branching occurs, how multiple cracks develop, and what is the geometry of multiple branches. The model is based on…

The phase-field method is based on the energy minimization principle which is a geometric method for modeling diffusive cracks that are popularly implemented with irreversibility based on Griffith's criterion. This method requires a…

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…

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…

We study the transport properties of a system of active particles moving at constant speed in an heterogeneous two-dimensional space. The spatial heterogeneity is modeled by a random distribution of obstacles, which the active particles…

Combining experiments and computer simulations, we use a spatially periodic and flashing light-field to direct the motion of phototactic active colloids. Here, the colloids self-organize into a density spike pattern, which resembles a shock…

We investigate numerically the dynamics of crack propagation along a weak plane using a model consisting of fibers connecting a soft and a hard clamp. This bottom-up model has previously been shown to contain the competition of two crack…

Toughness describes the ability of a material to resist fracture or crack propagation. It is demonstrated here that fracture toughness of a material can be asymmetric, i.e., the resistance of a medium to a crack propagating from right to…

Dislocations play a key role in the understanding of many phenomena in solid state physics, materials science, crystallography and engineering. Dislocations are line defects producing distortions and self-stresses in an otherwise perfect…

A variational discrete element method is applied to simulate quasi-static crack propagation. Cracks are considered to propagate between the mesh cells through the mesh facets. The elastic behaviour is parametrized by the continuous…

The fracture toughness for a mode I/II crack propagating in a ductile material has been subject to numerous investigations. However, the influence of the material hardening law has received very limited attention, with isotropic hardening…

The temporal evolution of mechanical energy and spatially-averaged crack speed are both monitored in slowly fracturing artificial rocks. Both signals display an irregular burst-like dynamics, with power-law distributed fluctuations spanning…

We review recent theoretical progress on the dynamics of brittle crack fronts and its relationship to the roughness of fracture surfaces. We discuss the possibility that the intermediate scale roughness of cracks, which is characterized by…

We have designed a new experimental setup able to investigate fracture of soft materials at small scales. At high crack velocity, where energy is mostly dissipated through viscoelastic processes, we observe an increasingly large high strain…

When transported in confined geometries rigid fibers show interesting transport dynamics induced by friction with the top and bottom walls. Fiber flexibility causes an additional coupling between fiber deformation and transport and is…

I study the influence of temperature and the crack-tip velocity of the bond breaking at the crack tip in rubber-like materials. The bond breaking is considered as a stress-aided thermally activated process and result in an effective crack…

The velocity jump found in the crack propagation for rubbers has been a powerful tool for developing tough rubber materials. Although it is suggested by a theory that the jump could be observed widely for viscoelastic materials, the report…

Brittle fractures of inhomogeneous materials like rocks, concrete, or ceramics are of two types: Nominally brittle and driven by the propagation of a single dominant crack or quasi-brittle and resulting from the accumulation of many…

Transport properties of three-dimensional self-affine rough fractures are studied by means of an effective-medium analysis and numerical simulations using the Lattice-Boltzmann method. The numerical results show that the effective-medium…