Abstract
Experiments on quasistatic crack propagation in gelatin hydrogels reveal a new branching instability triggered by wetting the tip opening with a drop of aqueous solvent less viscous than the bulk one. We show that the emergence of unstable branches results from a balance between the rate of secondary crack growth and the rate of advection away from a non-linear elastic region of size G/E , where G is the fracture energy and E the small strain Young modulus. We build a minimal, predictive model that combines mechanical characteristics of this mesoscopic region and physical features of the process zone. It accounts for the details of the stability diagram and lends support to the idea that non-linear elasticity plays a critical role in crack front instabilities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J.L. Drury, D.J. Mooney, Biomaterials 24, 4437 (2003)
A. Livne, G. Cohen, J. Fineberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 224301 (2005)
M.E. Seitz, D. Martina, T. Baumberger, V.R. Krishnan, C.-Y. Hui, K.R. Shull, Soft Matter 5, 447 (2009)
T. Baumberger, C. Caroli, D. Martina, Nat. Mater. 5, 552 (2006)
B. Lawn, Fracture of Brittle Solids, 2nd edition (Cambridge, University Press, 1993)
C.-Y. Hui, A. Jagota, S.J. Bennison, J.D. Londono, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 459, 1489 (2003)
T. Baumberger, C. Caroli, D. Martina, O. Ronsin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 178803 (2008)
A. Livne, O. Ben-David, J. Fineberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 124301 (2007)
R.D. Deegan, P.J. Petersan, M. Marder, H. Swinney, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 014304 (2002)
J. Fineberg, M. Marder, Phys. Rep. 313, 1 (1999)
A. Livne, E. Bouchbinder, J. Fineberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 264301 (2008)
V.R. Krishnan, C.-Y. Hui, R. Long, Langmuir 24, 14245 (2008)
A.N. Gent, Langmuir 12, 4492 (1996)
T. Baumberger, C. Caroli, D. Martina, Eur. Phys. J. E 21, 81 (2006)
K.B. Broberg, Cracks and Fracture (Academic Press, 1999)
L. Guo, R.H. Colby, C.P. Lusigan, A.M. Howe, Macromolecules 36, 10009 (2003)
O. Ronsin, T. Baumberger, C. Caroli, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 138302 (2009)
L.R.G. Treloar, The Physics of Rubber Elasticity (Oxford University Press, London, 1949)
R.S. Rivlin, A.G. Thomas, J. Polym. Sci. 10, 291 (1953)
See ftp://ftp.insp.jussieu.fr/pub/users/.ronsin/ CrackBranching.htm for video movies
K.E. Daniels, S. Mukhopadhyay, P.J. Houseworth, R.P. Behringer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 124501 (2007)
E. Bouchbinder, A. Livne, J. Fineberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 264302 (2008)
M. Shibayama, M. Okamoto, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 4285 (2001)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baumberger, T., Ronsin, O. A convective instability mechanism for quasistatic crack branching in a hydrogel. Eur. Phys. J. E 31, 51–58 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2010-10546-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2010-10546-x