Intersonic shear crack growth along weak planes

Abstract

Classical dynamic fracture theories predict the Rayleigh surface wave speed (c_R ) to be the limiting speed of propagation for mode-I cracks in constitutively homogeneous, isotropic, linear elastic materials subjected to remote loading. For mode-II cracks, propagating along prescribed straight line paths, the same theories, while excluding the possibility of crack growth in the speed regime between c_R and the shear wave speed, c_s , do not exclude intersonic (c_s <υ

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