paper

Thermal noise and the branching threshold in brittle fracture

arXiv:cond-mat/9901166 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.1994

Abstract

Many studies have confirmed that cracks in brittle materials branch when the crack speed exceeds a certain threshold velocity, but the value of that threshold is not understood. Almost all theoretical calculations overestimate the threshold by factors of two or more. We show that thermal noise can reduce the threshold by a substantial amount, and we propose that this effect can account for the discrepancy.

4 pages, 5 figures, Latex

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