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How cracks are hot and cool: a burning issue for paper
Renaud Toussaint1, Olivier Lengliné, Stéphane Santucci
1Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, CNRS, EOST-University of Strasbourg, 5 rue Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France. renaud.toussaint@unistra.fr.
Soft Matter
|June 1, 2016
Summary
Researchers measured the heat generated during material failure, finding 12% of mechanical energy converts to heat at crack tips. This heat accumulation can weaken materials, potentially explaining earthquakes and catastrophic ruptures.
Area of Science:
- Solid mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Materials science
Background:
- Material failure generates significant heat at crack tips, reaching thousands of degrees.
- This high temperature can alter mechanical properties and promote further rupture.
- Thermal runaway weakening may explain phenomena like stick-slip motion and deep earthquakes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the energy dissipation during fracture propagation.
- To establish a direct relationship between temperature fields and heat conversion during crack growth.
- To understand the role of heat accumulation in catastrophic failure events.
Main Methods:
- Combined analytical calculations and numerical simulations.
- Utilized infrared thermography to monitor crack tip temperature.
- Studied slow crack growth in paper sheets.
Main Results:
- Quantified the fraction (α) of mechanical energy converted into heat at crack tips.
- Measured α = 12% ± 4% in paper samples.
- Demonstrated that heat accumulation can lead to microfiber combustion and dynamic failure.
Conclusions:
- Directly linked temperature fields around crack tips to mechanical energy conversion.
- Provided experimental evidence for the significant role of heat in material failure.
- Highlighted the potential for heat accumulation to trigger catastrophic dynamic failure regimes.
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