Smooth-to-rough transition in the fracture of fibrous materials

✍ Scribed by I.L. Menezes-Sobrinho

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 329 KB
• Volume: 328
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0378-4371
• DOI: 10.1016/s0378-4371(03)00529-6

✦ Synopsis

In this paper, a computational model in (2+1) dimensions which simulates the creep rupture of a ÿbrous material submitted to a constant uniaxial force F is analyzed. This force F produces in the bundle an initial displacement z0 which increases with time. In our model, the breakage of a ÿber can provoke a cascade of breaking ÿbers which describes the propagation of a crack through the ÿber bundle. In addition, the crack velocity is not constant, depending on the number of broken ÿbers in the bundle. Our goal here is to examine the fracture of this type of material as a function of the temperature t and of the initial displacement ratio 0 = z0=zc (zc is a critical displacement), as well as to investigate the e ects of these parameters on the fracture roughness and on the roughness exponent . Our results indicate that as 0 approaches the critical initial displacement ratio 0c the roughness W obey the following power law W ∼ ( 0c -0) ÿ , where ÿ 0:33 is a critical exponent. These results can be understood in terms of a phase transition from a smooth phase to a rough one.