Supersonic crack growth in a solid of upturn stress-strain relation under anti-plane shear

This paper examines, from the prospect of continuum analysis, the possibility for a supersonic crack growth in a solid with an upturn stress-strain relation. The stress has a linear-upturn power-law relation with the strain, resulting in an elastic modulus, and consequently a wave speed, that increase with the strain. Though appearing to be "supersonic", the local wave speed in the crack tip vicinity of the solid with a sufficient upturn stress-strain relation exceeds the crack extension speed. A pre-request for such a supersonic crack growth is the storage of sufficient deformation energy within the solid to nurse the energy flux drawn to the crack tip that extends at an "apparent supersonic" speed. The idea is demonstrated for the simplest case, the anti-plane shear. We examine the steady-state supersonic crack growth in a hyperelastic material. The governing equation is elliptical in the crack tip vicinity but hyperbolic elsewhere. The boundary between two regions is determined with a certain extent. An asymptotic solution is constructed within the super-hardening zone. The solution connects to the hyperbolic radiation strips by weak discontinuity boundaries and to the pre-stressed frontal field by a strong discontinuity boundary.