Related papers: The trousers fracture test for viscoelastic elasto…
We propose a variational phase-field model of fracture capable of accounting for arbitrary closed convex strength domains. Unlike traditional models based on Ambrosio and Tortorelli regularization, the phase-field variable does not affect…
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 mechanics of single-chain stretching and rupture are central to understanding the resilience of biological polymers and designing strong and tough soft materials such as double-network gels and multi-network elastomers. In this work, we…
We investigate the curvature-dependence of the visco-elastic Taylor-Couette instability. The radius of curvature is changed over almost a decade and the critical Weissenberg numbers of the first linear instability are determined.…
In any domain involving some stressed solids, that is, from seismology to general engineering, the strength of matter is a paramount feature to understand. We here discuss the ability of a simple thermally activated sub-critical model, that…
This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the elastic and fracture behavior of ply-to-ply angle interlock three-dimensional woven composites. The research investigated novel splitting and wedge-driven out-of-plane fracture tests…
Ever since its publication, the Griffith theory is the most widely used criterion for estimating the ideal strength and fracture strength of materials depending on whether the materials contain cracks or not. A Griffith strength limit of…
Soft dielectric elastomers that can exhibit extremely large deformations under the action of an electric field enable applications such as soft robotics, biomedical devices, energy harvesting among others. A key impediment in the use of…
The Brazilian test has been extremely popular while prompting significant debate. The main source of controversy is rooted in its indirect nature; the material tensile strength is inferred upon assuming that cracking initiates at the centre…
Cracks, the major vehicle for material failure, tend to accelerate to high velocities in brittle materials. In three-dimensions, cracks generically undergo a micro-branching instability at about 40% of their sonic limiting velocity. Recent…
Soft materials including elastomers and gels are pervasive in biological systems and technological applications. Whereas it is known that intrinsic fracture energies of soft materials are relatively low, how the intrinsic fracture energy…
This study aims to unravel the micro-mechanical underpinnings of the emergence of the fractocohesive length scale as a central concept in modern fracture mechanics. A thermodynamically consistent damage and fracture model for elastomers is…
The effect of geometrical shape of eroding absolutely rigid particles on the threshold rate of failure has been studied. The Shtaerman-Kilchevsky theory of quasi-static blunt impact, which generalizes Hertz's classical impact theory, is…
Friction plays a fundamental role in many natural processes, including earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Earthquakes occur when highly compressed fault surfaces accumulate large enough shear stresses, causing the faults to…
Using an elastostatic description of crack growth based on the Griffith criterion and the principle of local symmetry, we present a stochastic model describing the propagation of a crack tip in a 2D heterogeneous brittle material. The model…
In this study, a new linear theory of tearing instability is shown, where the modified LSC (Loureiro, Schekochihin, and Cowley) theory [36] developed from the original LSC theory [8] is extended from inviscid-resistive MHD to…
Pull-in (or electro-mechanical) instability occurs when a drastic decrease in the thickness of a dielectric elastomer results in electrical breakdown, which limits the applications of dielectric devices. Here we derive the criteria for…
For monodomain nematic elastomers, we construct generalised elastic-nematic constitutive models combining purely elastic and neoclassical-type strain-energy densities. Inspired by recent developments in stochastic elasticity, we extend…
The dynamic fragmentation of residually stressed solids involves a complex interplay between stored elastic energy, stress wave propagation, and crack instabilities. In this work, we investigate the fracture mechanics of chemically…
The fractocohesive length - the ratio between fracture toughness and work-to-fracture - provides a material-specific length scale that characterizes the size-dependent fracture behavior of pristine elastomers. However, its relevance to…