Fracture and Cavitation in Glassy Materials

JSGT 1955 V39 T394-T403

The phenomena of cavitation in liquids and of the incipience of cracks in glass-like solids are shown to have many features in common. In both cases mechanical energy stored in the system is converted into surface energy, and both" bubbles" and cracks grow at inhomogeneities in the material under the effects of applied tensile stress. The paper describes how these phenomena may be studied in solids and liquids by the use of small explosive charges which produce stress pulses of only a few microseconds duration. Transient cavitation effects obtained in water from such pulses are described, as are also similar fracture patterns found in "Perspex" cylinders. The transition from liquid to glass-like behaviour has been studied by observing fracture effects in an organic glass. This material softens from a brittle solid to a viscous liquid in the temperature range 10°–50°.

H. Kolsky