Limit velocity of fracture front and dynamic strength of brittle solids (Q789236)

This paper is concerned with propagation of brittle fracture fronts in solids subjected to dynamic over-loadings. The maximum limit stress theory is replaced by maximum limit velocity theory of fracture front in order to study the occurrence of shock and its separation. This study leads to the conclusion that in the two-front structure of plane shock waves the amplitude of the Hugoniot elastic limit which occurs as an elastic precursor of the shock propagation exceeds that of the ultimate static strength and increases with finite shock pressure. The results are compared with experiments and are shown to be in good agreement. The author attributes the increases of internal fractures to the dilatancy loosening effect in materials under dynamic loading conditions as occur in contained explosions for instance.