Failure time and microcrack nucleation
arXiv:cond-mat/9905161 · doi:10.1209/epl/i1999-00409-9
Abstract
The failure time of samples of heterogeneous materials (wood, fiberglass) is studied as a function of the applied stress. It is shown that in these materials the failure time is predicted with a good accuracy by a model of microcrack nucleation proposed by Pomeau. It is also shown that the crack growth process presents critical features when the failure time is approached.
13 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Europhysics Letters