Hyaluronan (HA) is a natural polyelectrolyte with distinctive biological functions. Cross-linking of HA to generate less degradable hydrogels for use in biomedical applications has attracted interest over many years. One limitation of HA hydrogels is that they are very brittle and/or easily dissolve in physiological environments, which limit their use in load-bearing applications. Herein, we de...

Heat-treatment in lithic technology refers to the controlled heating of quartz-rich, brittle, elastic lithic materials in order to reduce fracture toughness and improve knapping qualities. Successful heat-treatment reduces the point-tensile strength of many varieties of micro-crystalline quartz, including chert, without perceptibly altering any of the other properties with regard to fracture. T...

We derive a cohesive fracture model by homogenizing a periodic composite material whose microstructure is characterized by the presence of brittle inclusions in a reticulated unbreakable elastic structure.

1. Problem formulation. The processes governing the fracture of brittle solids are, at present, much less illuminated than those related to plastic deformations. The reason is that it is very difficult to observe the detailed fracture process directly. All one can determine is the load, which acted immediately before fracture started, and the path and nature of the fracture surface. Because dur...