title: Pattern formation and selection in quasistatic fracture.
abstract: Fracture in quasistatically driven systems is studied by means of a discrete spring-block model. Developed from close comparison with desiccation experiments, it describes crack formation induced by friction on a substrate. The model produces cellular, hierarchical patterns of cracks, characterized by a mean fragment size linear in the layer thickness, in agreement with experiments. The selection of a stationary fragment size is explained by exploiting the correlations prior to cracking. A scaling behavior associated with the thickness and substrate coupling, derived and confirmed by simulations, suggests why patterns have similar morphology despite their disparity in scales.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529, Republic of China. leungkt@phys.sinica.edu.tw
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Néda