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From Galileo to the present: What are the major discoveries about fractures in history?
Fracture is a crucial concept in engineering and materials science, affecting the properties of many objects and structures. Over time, our understanding of fracture has undergone significant historical exploration and inspiration, from Galileo's early experiments to modern computational mechanics. Fracture research involves not only basic mechanical principles, but also safety and innovation.
Fracture usually occurs when a material cracks or completely separates into two or more parts under stress.
Galileo, widely considered one of the founders of fracture mechanics, conducted a series of experiments in the 17th century to explore the tensile strength of different materials, such as iron wire, at different lengths. He found that as the length of the wire increased, the tensile strength decreased. This phenomenon revealed the statistical behavior of fracture and provided important insights for subsequent scientists and engineers. Although this discovery was made hundreds of years ago, it still has guiding significance today.
As time goes by, scientists have conducted in-depth research on the classification of fractures, dividing fractures into brittle fractures and ductile fractures. Brittle fracture is usually not accompanied by any obvious deformation and occurs instantly when stress is applied, resulting in rapid failure of the material. On the other hand, ductile fracture is accompanied by significant plastic deformation, and much of the energy is absorbed by the material before fracture.
The basic steps of ductile fracture include pore formation, pore merging (i.e. crack formation), crack propagation and final failure.
In the early 20th century, Alan Griffin first theoretically derived the fracture strength of materials, a research that laid the foundation for the development of fracture mechanics. He used many factors such as the material's Young's modulus and surface energy to describe and predict the material's fracture behavior. These early research measures enabled later scientists to conduct more in-depth exploration and research on this basis.
Computational fracture mechanics has become a standard analytical tool in materials science today. With the rapid growth of computing technology, we are able to gain a deeper understanding of the fracture behavior of various materials and can accurately predict how a material will behave under specific stresses. In this field, finite element method and boundary integral equation method are widely used to help scientists explore various complex fracture situations.
Computational fracture mechanics is not only a correction to material properties, but also the cornerstone of engineering practice.
Many catastrophic fracture events in history remind us of the importance of materials testing and analysis. For example, the sinking of the Titanic was caused by brittle fracture of the hull material, and the 1973 New Jersey syrup tank collapse had a profound impact on the material safety standards of the time. These events re-emphasize that in-depth research and understanding of fracture behavior is essential for designing safe and reliable structures.
Looking back on this path, we have come a long way from Galileo's early experiments to modern digital simulations. Now, many scholars and engineers are further exploring how to use new technologies and materials to optimize the design to prevent fracture events from occurring. This is not only an advancement in materials science, but also a deep thinking on how to cope with various challenges in the future.
In this ever-changing world, do we really understand the limits of materials and ensure that our designs are safe?
