Assuming that the energy dissipation decreases inversely with distance from the crack tip, the increase in steady-state toughness of a transformation-toughened ceramic is estimated to be AJ = (AJ,/w) In (1 + w), where (i) AJo denotes the toughness increment which would be expected for a given zone height h , assuming full transformation throughout the zone, and (ii) w is a nondimensional parame...

There are many advantages that polymeric adhesives can offer compared to the more traditional methods of joining such as bolting, brazing, welding, mechanical fasteners, etc. and epoxy adhesives represent the most common type of structural adhesive. When polymerised, epoxy adhesives are amorphous and highly-crosslinked materials and this microstructure results in many useful properties for stru...

Characterized by their low modulus and high stretchability, soft composites have recently attracted great interest from researchers in related areas. The main objective of the present study is on the fracture property and toughening mechanism of soft composites. Two types of soft composites will be studied: soft elastic foam and the double-network (DN) composite. A theoretical/numerical study i...

Outstanding mechanical properties of biological multilayered materials are strongly influenced by nanoscale features in their structure. In this study, mechanical behaviour and toughening mechanisms of abalone nacre-inspired multilayered materials are explored. In nacre's structure, the organic matrix, pillars and the roughness of the aragonite platelets play important roles in its overall mech...

We present a simple example of toughening mechanism in the homogenization of composites with soft inclusions, produced by crack deflection at microscopic level. We show that the mechanism is connected to the irreversibility of the crack process. Because of that it cannot be detected through the standard homogenization tool of the Γ-convergence.

In this article, the toughening effect of polymer fibers in cementitious materials is analyzed through an energy method. When a crack front encounters a fiber array, additional fracture work is required to overcome the barrier effect. The influences of fibers, matrix, and crack length on the critical energy release rate are collectively described by a single system parameter.