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Oscillations in Rapid Fracture

Ariel Livne·Oded Ben-David·Jay Fineberg
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Abstract

Experiments of pure tensile fracture in brittle gels reveal a new dynamic oscillatory instability whose onset occurs at a critical velocity, Vc = 0.87 Cs, where Cs is the shear wave speed. Until Vc crack dynamics are well described by linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). These extreme speeds are obtained by suppression of the micro-branching instability, which occurs when sample thicknesses are made comparable to the minimum micro-branch width. The wavelength of these sinusoidal oscillations is independent of the sample dimensions, thereby suggesting that a new intrinsic scale exists that is unrelated to LEFM.

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Ariel Livne, Oded Ben-David, Jay Fineberg. 2006-09-12. Oscillations in Rapid Fracture. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.98.124301

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