Path (un)predictability of two interacting cracks in polycarbonate sheets using Digital Image Correlation
Author(s)
Koivisto, J.; Alava, M. J.; Santucci, S.; Dalbe, Marie Julie Elise
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Crack propagation is tracked here with Digital Image Correlation analysis in the test case of two cracks propagating in opposite directions in polycarbonate, a material with high ductility and a large Fracture Process Zone (FPZ). Depending on the initial distances between the two crack tips, one may observe different complex crack paths with in particular a regime where the two cracks repel each other prior to being attracted. We show by strain field analysis how this can be understood according to the principle of local symmetry: the propagation is to the direction where the local shear - mode K[subscript II] in fracture mechanics language - is zero. Thus the interactions exhibited by the cracks arise from symmetry, from the initial geometry, and from the material properties which induce the FPZ. This complexity makes any long-range prediction of the path(s) impossible.
Date issued
2016-08Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringJournal
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Koivisto, J. et al. “Path (Un)predictability of Two Interacting Cracks in Polycarbonate Sheets Using Digital Image Correlation.” Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 32278.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2045-2322