Abstract
The stability of the growth regime of a system of four equal cracks is studied. The cracks are positioned symmetrically in a cruciform pattern, and they grow toward the center of the symmetry because of nonuniform thermal contraction or incremental injection of incompressible fluid. It is shown that, for either loading condition, a critical stage will be reached at which one pair of coplanar cracks runs together to form a single crack, while the other pair remains stationary. In fact, for the hydraulic loading, the effective fluid pressure acting on the cracks decreases as the cracks grow spontaneously.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 15-29 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Engineering Fracture Mechanics |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1980 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering