title: Finite-distance singularities in the tearing of thin sheets.
abstract: We investigate the interaction between two cracks propagating quasistatically in a thin sheet. Two different experimental geometries allow us to tear sheets by imposing an out-of-plane shear loading. A single tear propagates in a straight line independently of its position in the sheet. In contrast, we find that two tears converge along self-similar paths and annihilate each other. These finite-distance singularities display geometry-dependent similarity exponents, which we retrieve using scaling arguments based on a balance between the stretching and the bending of the sheet close to the tips of the cracks.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, UPMC Paris 06, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bayart
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudaoud
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adda-Bedia
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004548:Elasticity; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D033081:Shear Strength; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D011126:Polypropylenes