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Cracks in rubber under tension exceed the shear wave speed

Paul J. Petersan·Robert D. Deegan·M. Marder·Harry L. Swinney
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Abstract

The shear wave speed is an upper limit for the speed of cracks loaded in tension in linear elastic solids. We have discovered that in a non-linear material, cracks in tension (Mode I) exceed this sound speed, and travel in an intersonic range between shear and longitudinal wave speeds. The experiments are conducted in highly stretched sheets of rubber; intersonic cracks can be produced simply by popping a balloon.

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Paul J. Petersan, Robert D. Deegan, M. Marder, Harry L. Swinney. 2004-04-12. Cracks in rubber under tension exceed the shear wave speed. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.93.015504

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