A variational model of fracture for tearing brittle thin sheets

Tearing of brittle thin elastic sheets, possibly adhered to a substrate, involves a rich interplay between nonlinear elasticity, geometry, adhesion, and fracture mechanics. In addition to its intrinsic and practical interest, tearing of thin sheets has helped elucidate fundamental aspects of fracture mechanics including the mechanism of crack path selection. A wealth of experimental observations in different experimental setups is available, which has been often rationalized with insightful yet simplified theoretical models based on energetic considerations. In contrast, no computational method has addressed tearing in brittle thin elastic sheets. Here, motivated by the variational nature of simplified models that successfully explain crack paths in tearing sheets, we present a variational phase-field model of fracture coupled to a nonlinear Koiter thin shell model including stretching and bending. We show that this general yet straightforward approach is able to reproduce the observed phenomenology, including spiral or power-law crack paths in free standing films, or converging/diverging cracks in thin films adhered to negatively/positively curved surfaces, a scenario not amenable to simple models. Turning to more quantitative experiments on thin sheets adhered to planar surfaces, our simulations allow us to examine the boundaries of existing theories and suggest that homogeneous damage induced by moving folds is responsible for a systematic discrepancy between theory and experiments. Thus, our computational approach to tearing provides a new tool to understand these complex processes involving fracture, geometric nonlinearity and delamination, complementing experiments and simplified theories.Fil: Li, Bin. Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya; España. Sorbonne Université; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Millán, Raúl Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Aplicadas a la Industria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya; EspañaFil: Torres Sánchez, Alejandro. Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya; EspañaFil: Roman, Benoît. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Sorbonne Université; FranciaFil: Arroyo Balaguer, Marino. Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya; Españ

Advances in test and measurement of the interface adhesion and bond strengths in coating-substrate systems, emphasising blister and bulk techniques

In this paper, recent advances in the minimum-destructive testing of the adhesion of coating-substrate systems are reviewed, focusing on key techniques such as micro- and nano-scale levels of indentation, scratching, laser-induced wave shock, as well as the blister and buckle approach. Along with adhesion failure tests, the latest and most extensive applications of the adhesion test methods in nano-, micro- and bulk-coating technology and the associated techniques to determine the minimum damage defects left on the coatings are discussed and their use reviewed

A Review on Mechanics and Mechanical Properties of 2D Materials - Graphene and Beyond

Since the first successful synthesis of graphene just over a decade ago, a variety of two-dimensional (2D) materials (e.g., transition metal-dichalcogenides, hexagonal boron-nitride, etc.) have been discovered. Among the many unique and attractive properties of 2D materials, mechanical properties play important roles in manufacturing, integration and performance for their potential applications. Mechanics is indispensable in the study of mechanical properties, both experimentally and theoretically. The coupling between the mechanical and other physical properties (thermal, electronic, optical) is also of great interest in exploring novel applications, where mechanics has to be combined with condensed matter physics to establish a scalable theoretical framework. Moreover, mechanical interactions between 2D materials and various substrate materials are essential for integrated device applications of 2D materials, for which the mechanics of interfaces (adhesion and friction) has to be developed for the 2D materials. Here we review recent theoretical and experimental works related to mechanics and mechanical properties of 2D materials. While graphene is the most studied 2D material to date, we expect continual growth of interest in the mechanics of other 2D materials beyond graphene

Peeling from a patterned thin elastic film

Inspired by the observation that many naturally occurring adhesives arise as textured thin films, we consider the displacement controlled peeling of a flexible plate from an incision-patterned thin adhesive elastic layer. We find that crack initiation from an incision on the film occurs at a load much higher than that required to propagate it on a smooth adhesive surface; multiple incisions thus cause the crack to propagate intermittently. Microscopically, this mode of crack initiation and propagation in geometrically confined thin adhesive films is related to the nucleation of cavitation bubbles behind the incision which must grow and coalesce before a viable crack propagates. Our theoretical analysis allows us to rationalize these experimental observations qualitatively and quantitatively and suggests a simple design criterion for increasing the interfacial fracture toughness of adhesive films.Comment: 8 pages, To appear in Proceedings of Royal Society London, Ser.

Protocol to perform pressurized blister tests on thin elastic films

This work aims to identify common challenges in the preparation of the blister test devices designed for measurement of energy release rate for brittle thin films and to propose easy-to-implement solutions accordingly. To this end, we provide a step-by-step guide for fabricating a blister test device comprised of thin polystyrene films adhered to glass substrates. Thin films are first transferred from donor substrates to an air-water interface, which is then used as a platform to locate them on a receiver substrate. We embed a microchannel at the back of the device to evacuate the air trapped in the opening, through which the pressure is applied. We quantify the height and the radius of the blister to estimate the adhesion energy using the available expressions correlating the normal force and the moment with the shape of the blister. The present blister test provided adhesion energy per unit area of $G = 18 \pm 2$ \mbox{mJ}/{\mbox m}^2 for polystyrene on glass, which is in good agreement with the measurement of $G = 14 \pm 2$ \mbox{mJ}/{\mbox m}^2 found in our independent cleavage test

Self-replicating cracks: a collaborative fracture mode in thin films

Straight cracks are observed in thin coatings under residual tensile stress, resulting into the classical network pattern observed in china crockery, old paintings or dry mud. Here, we present a novel fracture mechanism where delamination and propagation occur simultaneously, leading to the spontaneous self-replication of an initial template. Surprisingly, this mechanism is active below the standard critical tensile load for channel cracks and selects a robust interaction length scale on the order of 30 times the film thickness. Depending on triggering mechanisms, crescent alleys, spirals or long bands are generated over a wide range of experimental parameters. We describe with a simple physical model the selection of the fracture path and provide a configuration diagram displaying the different failure modes

Quantification of growth kinetics and adherence of oxide scales formed on Ni-based superalloys at high temperature

Cyclic and isothermal oxidation behaviors of first and fourth-generation superalloys AM1 and MCNG were investigated to evaluate the ability of the scratch test to quantify the adhesion of multi-layered oxide scales. Effects of sulfur content and of scale thickness were studied independently. Available models lead to large discrepancies in the calculated work of adhesion values with the evaluation of the residual stress being the largest source of error. Nevertheless, models can assess the effect of sulfur content and the scratch test can be used to correlate the long-term cyclic oxidation behavior and the adhesion of oxide scales