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Fragility Assessment of Bovine Cortical Bone Using Scratch Tests
Published on: November 30, 2017
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Damage accumulation in quasibrittle fracture
Claudio Manzato1, Mikko J Alava, Stefano Zapperi2
1Centre of Excellence in Computational Nanoscience, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, P.O. Box 14100, FIN-00076 Aalto, Espoo, Finland.
Summary
The strength of quasibrittle materials relies on defect accumulation. Large-scale simulations show microcracks coalesce, broadening distributions and impacting fracture size effects as loads increase.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Computational Physics
- Solid Mechanics
Background:
- Material strength is governed by internal defects and damage accumulation.
- Understanding microcrack evolution is crucial for predicting material failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate microcrack distribution evolution in quasibrittle materials under increasing load.
- To analyze the influence of system size and material disorder on crack coalescence.
- To connect simulation findings to macroscopic fracture size effects.
Main Methods:
- Large-scale numerical simulations using the random fuse model.
- Analysis of microcrack distribution and coalescence patterns.
- Systematic variation of applied load and material disorder parameters.
Main Results:
- The microcrack distribution broadens significantly as the fracture point is approached.
- Crack coalescence, increasing with system size, is the primary driver of distribution broadening.
- The observed behavior is dependent on the degree of disorder within the material.
Conclusions:
- Microcrack coalescence is a key mechanism in quasibrittle material failure.
- System size and material disorder critically influence damage accumulation and fracture behavior.
- Simulation results provide insights into size effects in fracture mechanics.
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