Ultrasonic methods have been implemented for in situ sizing of fatigue cracks near fastener holes. These techniques, however, only provide an estimate at the time of the measurement and cannot predict the remaining life of the structure. In contrast, statistical crack propagation approaches model the expected fatigue life based on worst-case fatigue process assumptions. The authors have recentl...

We develop a model for the propagation of a fluid-filled crack in a porous medium. The problem is motivated by the mechanism whereby drainage networks may form in partially molten rock below the Earth‘s lithosphere. Other applications include the propagation of hydraulic fractures in jointed rocks and in oil drilling operations, and the formation of dessication cracks in soils. Motivated by the...

We study a lattice model for mode III crack propagation in brittle materials in a stripe geometry at constant applied stretching. Stiffening of the material at large deformation produces supersonic crack propagation. For large stretching the propagation is guided by well-developed soliton waves. For low stretching, the crack-tip velocity has a universal dependence on stretching that can be obta...

An analysis is presented for transient response of a mode-III interfacial crack propagating between two dissimilar piezoelectric half spaces. The dynamic fracture toughness of a piezoelectric interface is examined, which is a central issue related to the interface strength of multi-layered sensors and ferroelectric thin film devices. For the mode-III crack propagation in piezoelectric materials...

Crack propagation during the indentation test of a ferroelectric single crystal is simulated using a phase-field model. This model is based on variational formulations of brittle crack propagation and domain evolution in ferroelectric materials. Due to the high compressive stresses near the indenter contact faces, a modified regularized formulation of the variational brittle fracture is coupled...

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...

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...

In this letter, the quantity effect of radial cracks on the cracking propagation behavior as well as the circular crack generation on the impacted glass plate within the sandwiched glass sheets are experimentally investigated via high-speed photography system. Results show that the radial crack velocity on the backing glass layer decreases with the crack number under the same impact conditions ...

We investigate the process of slow intergranular crack propagation by the finite element method model and show that branching is induced by partial arresting of a crack front owing to the geometrical randomness of grain boundaries. A possible scenario for the branching instability of crack propagation in a disordered continuous medium is also discussed.

this study investigates propagation of mode i crack in b70 pre-stressed concrete sleepers by fracture mechanics approach. a new experimental analysis is done for notched b70 pre-stressed concrete sleepers with replica test and image analysis. a scanning electron microscope test (sem) and an image analysis are applied for the replica test in order to determine crack length and crack mouth openin...