Physics – Condensed Matter – Soft Condensed Matter
Scientific paper
2004-04-21
Physics
Condensed Matter
Soft Condensed Matter
written in january 2004
Scientific paper
Soft polymer-based solid materials can be defined as solid materials with elastic moduli below 1 MPa. In order to obtain such a low modulus while retaining a solid character, all these materials are based on a network of fixed points (crosslinks, physical interactions) keeping together a liquid-like matrix. Since they are not able to flow, very large deformations will lead to failure by fracture or cavitation. We discuss in this paper new experimental data suggesting that the growth of a cavity in a soft nearly elastic solid undergoes a transition from a stress-controlled growth, when the initial cavity size is larger than Gc/E, to an energy-activated growth, when the initial cavity size is smaller than Gc/E. The important material length scale Gc/E represents the ratio between the surface energy necessary to expand the cavity and the elastic modulus. This energy activated growth regime is due to the existence of a metastable solution and significantly increases the apparent cavitation stress for layers thinner than 1000 Gc/E.
Chiche Arnaud
Creton Costantino
Dollhofer Josef
No associations
LandOfFree
Cavity Growth in Soft Solids does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Cavity Growth in Soft Solids, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cavity Growth in Soft Solids will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-18159