Kinetics of brittle fracture of elastic materials

A phenomenological model is proposed for the evolution of microcavities in materials under load based on a study of the kinetics of brittle fracture in a linearly elastic deformable medium containing a microcavity. The basic principle of the model is that, during deformation of a material containing a micropore, fluctuations of its shape occur. The surface tension at the micropore-medium interface stabilizes these fluctuations but if the load exceeds a critical value, these fluctuations may begin to evolve. In so doing, they distort the shape of the microcavity. These fluctuations are none other than cracks. This concept of crack growth and their nature has a close analogy with the evolution of dendrites formed in supercooled melts as a result of the loss of stable crystal shape. An analysis is made of the laws governing the evolution of a microcavity and local loss of shape stability under steady-state pressure for the case of a sphere containing a quasispherical cavity.