Nucleation, Creep, and Dynamic Tensile Fracture Are Described by Extended LEFM
Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 106102 – Published 4 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jxfm-6xhn
Abstract
We experimentally validate a new description of brittle tensile fracture that extends linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) to account for the 2D geometry of propagating cracks in plates of finite thickness, . We show that cracks nucleate below the Griffith length at a critical stress threshold. They then creep (at constant velocities orders of magnitude below the Rayleigh wave speed) until expanding to . Only then do cracks undergo dynamic 1D fracture. The new theory quantitatively describes all of these dynamics. These results have important ramifications to all aspects of material failure.
