Statistical Physics of Fracture and Breakdown in Disordered Systems

by Bikas K. Chakrabarti, L. Gilles Benguigui

Overview

Under extreme conditions the mechanical or electrical properties of solids tend to destabilize, leading to failure or breakdown. These instabilities often nucleate or spread from disorders in the structure of the solid. This book by two experts in the field investigates current techniques for modeling these failure and breakdown processes. It illustrates the basic modeling principles through a series of computer and laboratory simulations and ‘table top' experiments. The book centers on three important case studies: electrical failures like fuse and dielectric breakdown; mechanical fractures; and earthquakes, which exhibit dynamic failure.

The material will interest all graduate students and researchers studying disordered systems, whether their focus is the mechanical failure of solids, the electrical breakdown of conductors, or earthquake mechanics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198520566
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/04/1997
Series:	Monographs on the Physics and Chemistry of Materials , #55
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta

Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Electrical breakdown in disordered solids3. Fracture strength of disordered solids4. Earthquakes in model systemsReferencesIndex