Author(s)

A. Bussiba & Y. Katz

Abstract

There is a tendency to regard the crack stability equation as the balance be- tween the driving force and the fracture resistance terms, normally expressed by the continuum theory. However, in cases of subcritical slow crack growth or in crack initiation-arrest-initiation processes, more of a localized approach is required. Here, fluctuations of the crack driving force and resistance occur on a fine scale during the semi-equilibrium period, allowing subcritical growth. Moreover, it appears that mutual interactions develop between the resistance and the driving force suggesting that a generic local crack stability equation actually governs fracture. The current study provides a viewpoint as related to the discontinuous crack growth, while considering micro/macro scale circumstances. In order to elucidate the microcrack stability

Keywords