Tearing of thin sheets: Cracks interacting through an elastic ridge

Fabian Brau

doi:10.1103/physreve.90.062406

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arXiv · 1409.0450

Tearing of thin sheets: Cracks interacting through an elastic ridge

Fabian Brau

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Abstract

We study the interaction between two cracks propagating quasistatically during the tearing of a thin brittle sheet. We show that the cracks attract each other following a path described by a power law resulting from the competition between elastic and fracture energies. The power law exponent (8/11) is in close agreement with experiments. We also show that a second (asymptotic) regime, with an exponent of 9/8, emerges for small distances between the two crack tips due to the finite transverse curvature of the elastic ridge joining them.

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Fabian Brau. 2014-09-01. Tearing of thin sheets: Cracks interacting through an elastic ridge. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.90.062406

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