Related papers: Configurational forces explain echelon cracks in s…
Mixed mode (I+III) loading induces segmented crack front \'echelon structures connected by steps. We study this instability in a highly deformable, strain-hardening material. We find that \'echelons develop beyond a finite, size-independent…
Predicting the growth of large cracks in brittle materials is a fundamental unresolved problem in fracture mechanics. Under out-of-plane shear loading, an initially planar crack may fragment into multiple cracks, forming an echelon crack…
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…
Bone adapts in response to its mechanical environment. This evolution of bone density is one of the most important mechanisms for developing fracture resistance. A finite element framework for simulating bone adaptation, commonly called…
In a previous paper (Leblond et al., 2011), we proposed a theoretical interpretation of the experimentally well known instability of coplanar crack propagation in mode I+III. The interpretation relied on a stability analysis based on…
Understanding the fracture mechanics of soft solids remains a fundamental challenge due to their complex, nonlinear responses under large deformations. While multiaxial loading is key to probing their mechanical behavior, the role of such…
The iterative nature of topology optimization, especially in combination with nonlinear state problems, often requires the solution of thousands of linear equation systems. Furthermore, due to the pixelated design representation, the use of…
A planar crack generically segments into an array of "daughter cracks" shaped as tilted facets when loaded with both a tensile stress normal to the crack plane (mode I) and a shear stress parallel to the crack front (mode III). We…
The discovery of configurational forces acting on elastic structures and its initial applications are reviewed. Configurational forces are related to the possibility that an elastic structure can change its configuration, thus inducing a…
Cracks develop various surface patterns as they propagate in three-dimensional (3D) materials. Facet formation in nominally tensile (mode-I) fracture emerge in the slow, non-inertial regime and oftentimes takes the form of surface steps. We…
With a loose reference to problems of penetration in biomechanics (for instance, a nanoparticle penetrating through a cell's membrane or a cell sucked with a pipette), the role of configurational forces is investigated during the process in…
Fracture of materials with rate-dependent mechanical behaviour, e.g. polymers, is a highly complex process. For an adequate modelling, the coupling between rate-dependent stiffness, dissipative mechanisms present in the bulk material and…
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…
The method of iterated conformal maps is developed for quasi-static fracture of brittle materials, for all modes of fracture. Previous theory, that was relevant for mode III only, is extended here to mode I and II. The latter require…
This paper presents a formulation for brittle fracture in 3D elastic solids within the context of configurational mechanics. The local form of the first law of thermodynamics provides a condition for equilibrium of the crack front. The…
Extreme mechanical processes such as strong lattice distortion and bond breakage during fracture are ubiquitous in nature and engineering, which often lead to catastrophic failure of structures. However, understanding the nucleation and…
The paper addresses the problem of a Mode III interfacial crack advancing quasi-statically in a heterogeneous composite material, that is a two-phase material containing elastic inclusions, both soft and stiff, and defects, such as…
Patterns on broken surfaces are well-known from everyday experience, but surprisingly, how and why they form are very much open questions. Well-defined facets are commonly observed1-4 along fracture surfaces which are created by slow…
A homogeneous elastic solid, bounded by a flat surface in its unstressed configuration, undergoes a finite strain when in frictionless contact against a rigid and rectilinear constraint, ending with a rounded or sharp corner, in a…
The classical variational phase-field model for brittle fracture effectively predicts the growth of large pre-existing cracks. However, the modeling of crack nucleation continues to be a significant challenge. Crack nucleation under uniform…