Dynamic fibre sliding along debonded, frictional interfaces

The problem is considered of a fibre that is driven dynamically, by compression at one end, into a matrix. The fibre is not initially bonded to the matrix, so that its motion is resisted solely by friction. Prior work based on simplified models has shown that the combination of inertial effects and friction acting over long domains of the fibre–matrix interface gives rise to behaviour that is far more complex than in the well-known static loading problem. The front velocity may depart significantly from the bar wave speed and regimes of slip, slip/stick and reverse slip can exist for different material choices and loading rates. Here more realistic numerical simulations and detailed observations of dynamic displacement fields in a model push-in experiment are used to seek more complete understanding of the problem. The prior results are at least partly confirmed, especially the ability of simple shear-lag theory to predict front velocities and gross features of the deformation. Some other fundamental aspects are newly revealed, including oscillations in the interface stresses during loading; and suggestions of unstable, possibly chaotic interface conditions during unloading. Consideration of the experiments and two different orders of model suggest that the tentatively characterized chaotic phenomena may arise because of the essential nonlinearity of friction, that the shear traction changes discontinuously with the sense of the motion, rather than being associated with the details of the constitutive law that is assumed for the friction. This contrasts with recent understanding of instability and ill-posedness at interfaces loaded uniformly in time, where the nature of the assumed friction law dominates the outcome.