Crack Street: The Cycloidal Wake of a Cylinder Tearing through a Thin Sheet

A. Ghatak and L. Mahadevan
Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 215507 – Published 21 November 2003; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 119901 (2005)

Abstract

When a cylindrical tool cuts through a thin sheet of a relatively brittle material, it leaves behind a visually arresting crack street in its wake, reminiscent of a vortex street in the wake of a cylinder moving through a fluid. We show that simple geometrical arguments based on the interplay of in-plane stretching and out-of-plane bending suffice to explain the cycloidal morphology of the curved crack. The coupling between geometry and dynamics also allows us to explain the “stick-slip”-like behavior of tearing and suggests that these oscillations should occur generically in the brittle fracture of thin solid films.

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  • Received 22 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.215507

©2003 American Physical Society

Erratum

Authors & Affiliations

A. Ghatak* and L. Mahadevan*,†

  • Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge, CB3 0WA United Kingdom

  • *Current address: Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
  • Email address: lm@deas.harvard.edu

Comments & Replies

Ghatak and Mahadevan Reply:

A. Ghatak and L. Mahadevan
Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 129602 (2005)

Comment on “Crack Street: The Cycloidal Wake of a Cylinder Tearing through a Thin Sheet”

B. Audoly, B. Roman, and P. M. Reis
Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 129601 (2005)

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Vol. 91, Iss. 21 — 21 November 2003

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