Eran Bouchbinder's blog

In this work, we show that the combination of material quenched disorder (of finite strength/amplitude and correlation length) and a 2D tip-splitting instability (that gives rise to extra fracture surfaces) is at the heart of the spatiotemporal dynamics of cracks in 3D. Specifically, it is shown to account for the widely observed limiting (terminal) velocity of cracks, mirror-mist-hackle sequence of morphological transitions, crack macro-branching and a 3D-to-2D transition, out-of-plane crack front waves and the properties of micro-branches.  

Following the previous Blog entry on 3D fracture and out-of-plane crack structures: the essential role of material disorder, we add here a related manuscript (see also attached PDF):

Size selection of crack front defects: Multiple fracture-plane interactions and intrinsic lengthscales

In this pair of preprints (see also attached PDFs):

Quenched disorder and instability control dynamic fracture in three dimensions

Facet formation in slow three-dimensional fracture

Position title: Postdoctoral researcher in physics 

The transition between necking-mediated tensile failure of glasses, at elevated temperatures

and/or low strain-rates, and shear-banding-mediated tensile failure, at low temperatures and/or

high strain-rates, is investigated using tensile experiments on metallic glasses and atomistic simula-

tions. We experimentally and simulationally show that this transition occurs through a sequence of

macroscopic failure patterns, parametrized by the ultimate tensile strength. Quantitatively analyz-

Understanding the fracture toughness of glasses is of prime importance for

science and technology. We study it here using extensive atomistic simulations in

which the interaction potential, glass transition cooling rate, and loading geometry

are systematically varied, mimicking a broad range of experimentally accessible

properties. Glasses’ non-equilibrium mechanical disorder is quantified through

A_g, the dimensionless prefactor of the universal spectrum of non-phononic

Understanding the dynamic stability of bodies in frictional contact steadily sliding one over the other is of basic interest in various disciplines such as physics, solid mechanics, materials science and geophysics. Here we report on a two-dimensional linear stability analysis of a deformable solid of a finite height H, steadily sliding on top of a rigid solid within a generic rate-and-state friction type constitutive framework, fully accounting for elastodynamic effects.

A new postdoctoral position in the mechanics of glassy/amorphous materials is
available at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The project will focus on
strongly non-linear phenomena such as cavitation, shear-banding and fracture,
with applications to Bulk Metallic Glasses, and will involve advanced

A new postdoctoral position in continuum mechanics is available at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Candidates should have a strong background in physics and/or theoretical mechanics, as well as experience with analytical and computational methods for solving partial differential equations. Possible projects include the mechanics of frictional sliding, the mechanics of biomaterials, the mechanics of glassy materials and dislocation-mediated plasticity. Highly motivated candidates are requested to send their CV, publications list and statement of research interests to Dr.