ArticleJournal of the mechanics and physics of solids2025
Fracture of polymer-like networks with hybrid bond strengths.
Article in Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Design guidelines for self-healing materials in soft electronics.Nano convergence · 2026Review
- The role of chain stretch heterogeneity on the uniaxial failure response of rubbery networks.Mechanics of materials : an international journal · 2026Article
- Fundamental toughening landscape in soft-hard composites: Insights from a minimal framework.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
The design and functionality of polymeric materials hinge on failure resistance. While molecular-level details drive crack evolution in polymer networks, the connection between individual chain scission and bulk failure remains unclear and difficult to probe. In this work, we systematically study the fracture mechanics of polymer-like networks with hybrid bond strengths. We reveal that varying the ratio of strong and weak strands within otherwise identical networks gives a non-monotonic relationship between intrinsic fracture energy and strong strand fraction. Networks with some weak strands can counterintuitively outperform those with exclusively strong strands. Experiments on poly(ethylene glycol) gels and architected polymer-like lattices together with simulations unveil these properties. We show through computational visualization that strand type concentrations impact crack growth patterns and fracture energy trends. Cracks propagate through weak layers at low strong strand fractions. Aggregate clusters deflect or pin cracks at similar concentrations of strong and weak strands. Cracks blunt due to dispersed weak strand failure at high strong strand fractions. The sacrificial weak strands can notably deconcentrate stress near the crack tip, which toughens by delaying crack advancement. The interplay between concentration and clustering of strand types in networks with hybrid bond strengths, combined with crack growth phenomena and nonlocal energy release, provides insights into unusual fracture characteristics. Results shed light on fracture in polymer networks and percolated lattices.
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