Failure processes in elastic fiber bundles

The fiber bundle model describes a collection of elastic fibers under load. The fibers fail successively and, for each failure, the load distribution among the surviving fibers changes. Even though very simple, this model captures the essentials of failure processes in a large number of materials and settings. A review of the fiber bundle model is presented with different load redistribution mechanisms from the point of view of statistics and statistical physics rather than materials science, with a focus on concepts such as criticality, universality, and fluctuations. The fiber bundle model is discussed as a tool for understanding phenomena such as creep and fatigue and how it is used to describe the behavior of fiber-reinforced composites as well as modeling, e. g., network failure, traffic jams, and earthquake dynamics.