Fracture-induced mechanochemical activation is achieved for the first time in a structural engineering polymer. Rubber toughened PMMA is lightly cross-linked (1.0 mol%) with the mechanophore spiropyran by free radical polymerization. Single Edge Notch Tension tests are performed on the spiropyran-linked material and a distinct change in color and fluorescence is detected at the crack tip, indic...

Stresses around two parallel cracks of equal length in an infinite elastic medium are evaluated based on the linearized couple-stress theory under uniform tension normal to the cracks. Fourier transformations are used to reduce the boundary conditions with respect to the upper crack to dual integral equations. In order to solve these equations, the differences in the displacements and in the ro...

A nonlinear acoustic effect is a sensitive tool to detect a micro-scale crack or early stage of cracking during the fatigue process. The damage produces a nonlinear stress-strain relationship, and the nonlinearity can be measured by a higher harmonic component in the frequency domain. The greater the damage, the larger the level of a nonlinearity, which can be used for the diagnosis of micro-cr...

-Properties of elastic solutions to interface crack problems are discussed in both the open formulation, in which the crack faces are assumed to be traction-free and interpenetration is permitted, and the unilateral formulation, where a contact zone is generally established adjacent to the crack tips. It is shown that if the contact zone is sufficiently small compared with the other dimensions ...

Toughening mechanisms in a nylon 6,6/polyphenylene oxide (PA/PPO) alloy are studied. This alloy consists of well dispersed PPO particles (containing an elastomeric phase) in a PA matrix. Both crazing and shear yielding mechanisms are found to be sequentially operative in this alloy. When a crack propagates in the material, a crazed zone forms ahead of the crack tip. This crazed zone then transf...

Understanding the mechanism of fracture is essential for material and process design. While the initiation of fracture in brittle solids is generally associated with the preexistence of material imperfections, the mechanism for initiation of fracture in viscoelastic fluids, e.g., polymer melts and solutions, remains an open question. We use high speed imaging to visualize crack propagation in e...

A hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-dynamics simulation is performed to study the effects of environmental molecules on fracture initiation in silicon. A ~110! crack under tension ~mode-I opening! is simulated with multiple H2O molecules around the crack front. Electronic structure near the crack front is calculated with density functional theory. To accurately model the long-range stress fie...

Shielding interaction effects of two parallel edge cracks in finite thickness plates subjected to remote tension load is analyzed using a developed finite element analysis program. In the present study, the crack interaction limit is evaluated based on the fitness of service (FFS) code, and focus is given to the weak crack interaction region as the crack interval exceeds the length of cracks (b...

Cracks and craze lines are often observed in the enamel of human teeth, but they rarely cause tooth fracture. The present study evaluates fatigue crack growth in human enamel, and compares that to the fatigue response of sintered hydroxyapatite (HAp) with similar crystallinity, chemistry and density. Miniature inset compact tension (CT) specimens were prepared that embodied a small piece of ena...