We discuss a model for crack propagation in an elastic body, where the crack path is described a-priori. In particular, we develop in the framework of finitestrain elasticity a rate-independent model for crack evolution which is based on the Griffith fracture criterion. Due to the nonuniqueness of minimizing deformations, the energy-release rate is no longer continuous with respect to time and ...

We report a novel mode of quasi-static oscillatory crack propagation when a cutting tip of moderately large width is driven through a thin brittle polymer film (Roman [1] , Ghatak [2]). Experiments show that the amplitude and wavelength of the oscillatory crack paths scale linearly with the width of the cutting tip over a wide range of length scales but are independent of the width of the sheet...

We study the genesis and the selective propagation of complex crack networks induced by thermal shock or drying of brittle materials. We use a quasistatic gradient damage model to perform large-scale numerical simulations showing that the propagation of fully developed cracks follows Griffith criterion and depends only on the fracture toughness, while crack morphogenesis is driven by the materi...

It is demonstrated that the removal of material or the creation or extension of cracks always reduces the total potential energy of any non-linear or linear stable elastic body under fixed load and displacement boundary conditions. A weaker statement that crack extension releases potential energy in excess of plastic dissipation is established for stable elastic-plastic bodies, with certain str...

In this paper, the analytical solution of an electric and Volterra edge dislocation in a functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) medium is obtained by means of complex Fourier transform. The system is subjected to in-plane mechanical and electrical loading. The material properties of the medium vary exponentially with coordinating parallel to the crack. In this study, the rate of the gradual ch...

We investigate theoretically statistics and thermally activated dynamics of crack nucleation and propagation in a two-dimensional heterogeneous material containing quenched randomly distributed defects. We consider a crack tip dynamics accounting for dissipation, thermal noise and the random forces arising from the elastic interactions of the crack opening with the defects. The equation of moti...

This work deals with the interaction of P-waves between a moving central crack and a pair of outer cracks situated at the interface of an orthotropic layer and an elastic half-space. Initially, we considered a two-dimensional elastic wave equation in orthotropic medium. The Fourier transform has been applied to convert the basic problem to solve the set of four integral equations. These set of ...