arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C. Creton.
Crack propagation in viscoelastic solids like rubber is of great practical importance. Shrimali and Lopez-Pamies have proposed a new interesting approach for the crack propagation in viscoelastic solids. We give comments on the validity of the theory and point out some effects not included in the theory.
We study pattern formation during tensile deformation of confined viscoelastic layers. The use of a model system (PDMS with different degrees of crosslinking) allows us to go continuously from a viscous liquid to an elastic solid. We observe two distinct regimes of fingering instabilities: a regime called "elastic" with interfacial crack propagation where the fingering wavelength only scales with the film thickness, and a bulk regime called "viscoelastic" where the fingering instability shows a Saffman-Taylor-like behavior. We find good quantitative agreement with theory in both cases and present a reduced parameter describing the transition between the two regimes and allowing to predict the observed patterns over the whole range of viscoelastic properties.