Experimental analysis of lateral impact on planar brittle material: spatial properties of the cracks

TL;DR

This study investigates how lateral impacts cause cracks in brittle plates like glass and alumina, revealing spatial crack patterns, bifurcation probabilities, and material-independent fragmentation features with some material-specific spatial observables.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the spatial distribution of cracks and bifurcation behavior in brittle materials under impact, highlighting universal fragmentation properties and material-specific spatial differences.

Findings

Bifurcations are more likely near the impact region.

Fragment multiplicities are similar across materials, indicating universality.

Some spatial observables can distinguish material types.

Abstract

The breakup of glass and alumina plates due to planar impacts on one of their lateral sides is studied. Particular attention is given to investigating the spatial location of the cracks within the plates. Analysis based on a phenomenological model suggests that bifurcations along the cracks' paths are more likely to take place closer to the impact region than far away from it, i. e., the bifurcation probability seems to lower as the perpendicular distance from the impacted lateral in- creases. It is also found that many observables are not sensitive to the plate material used in this work, as long as the fragment multiplicities corresponding to the fragmentation of the plates are similar. This gives support to the universal properties of the fragmentation process reported in for- mer experiments. However, even under the just mentioned circumstances, some spatial observables are capable of distinguishing the material of which the plates are made and, therefore, it suggests that this universality should be carefully investigated.