Abstract
WHEN a fast crack runs through a crystalline solid, the elastic strain energy which is released may be distributed within the lattice in several ways. The most essential criterion for crack growth is that the surface energy requirements of the new surfaces created shall be met. For high velocity cracks, some energy will be absorbed as kinetic energy because the sides of the crack move apart rapidly, and for those materials which are ductile at the fracture temperature some of the elastic energy will be utilized in plastic flow processes involving dislocation movements at the crack tip.
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BOWDEN, F., Fox, P. & SORIA-RUIZ, J. Direct Observation of Thermal Decomposition produced by Fracture in Brittle Crystalline Solids. Nature 220, 778–779 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220778a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220778a0
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