Drying Patterns: Sensitivity to Residual Stresses

TL;DR

This paper explores how small variations in residual stresses influence crack patterns in thin elastic layers, revealing diverse formations like spirals and networks based on contraction gradients.

Contribution

It demonstrates the sensitivity of crack pattern formation to residual stress variations and identifies conditions leading to different pattern types.

Findings

Crack patterns vary from spirals to networks based on contraction gradients.

Small residual stress variations significantly influence crack morphology.

Pattern formation depends on the presence or absence of a contraction gradient.

Abstract

Volume alteration in solid materials is a common cause of material failure. Here we investigate the crack formation in thin elastic layers attached to a substrate. We show that small variations in the volume contraction and substrate restraint can produce widely different crack patterns ranging from spirals to complex hierarchical networks. The networks are formed when there is no prevailing gradient in material contraction whereas spirals are formed in the presence of a radial gradient in the contraction of a thin elastic layer.