Abstract
Toughness describes the ability of a material to resist fracture or crack propagation. It is demonstrated here that fracture toughness of a material can be asymmetric, i.e., the resistance of a medium to a crack propagating from right to left can be significantly different from that to a crack propagating from left to right. Such asymmetry is unknown in natural materials, but we show that it can be built into artificial materials through the proper control of microstructure. This paves the way for control of crack paths and direction, where fracture—when unavoidable—can be guided through predesigned paths to minimize loss of critical components.
- Received 8 June 2020
- Accepted 23 November 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.025503
© 2021 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
What It’s Cracked Up To Be
Published 14 January 2021
Researchers have designed a metamaterial that is nearly twice as resistant to cracking in one direction versus the other—what they call a fracture diode.
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