Material failure theory in the context of Catastrophic failure

⭐ Core Definition: Material failure theory

Material failure theory is an interdisciplinary field of materials science and solid mechanics which attempts to predict the conditions under which solid materials fail under the action of external loads. The failure of a material is usually classified into brittle failure (fracture) or ductile failure (yield). Depending on the conditions (such as temperature, state of stress, loading rate) most materials can fail in a brittle or ductile manner or both. However, for most practical situations, a material may be classified as either brittle or ductile.

In mathematical terms, failure theory is expressed in the form of various failure criteria which are valid for specific materials. Failure criteria are functions in stress or strain space which separate "failed" states from "unfailed" states. A precise physical definition of a "failed" state is not easily quantified and several working definitions are in use in the engineering community. Quite often, phenomenological failure criteria of the same form are used to predict brittle failure and ductile yields.

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👉 Material failure theory in the context of Catastrophic failure

A catastrophic failure is a sudden and total failure from which recovery is impossible. Catastrophic failures often lead to cascading systems failure. The term is most commonly used for structural failures, but has often been extended to many other disciplines in which total and irrecoverable loss occurs, such as a head crash occurrence on a hard disk drive.

For example, catastrophic failure can be observed in steam turbine rotor failure, which can occur due to peak stress on the rotor; stress concentration increases up to a point at which it is excessive, leading ultimately to the failure of the disc.

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⭐ Core Definition: Material failure theory
👉 Material failure theory in the context of Catastrophic failure
Material failure theory in the context of Rubber elasticity

Material failure theory in the context of Rubber elasticity

Rubber elasticity is the ability of solid rubber to be stretched up to a factor of 10 from its original length, and return to close to its original length upon release. This process can be repeated many times with no apparent degradation to the rubber.

Rubber, like all materials, consists of molecules. Rubber's elasticity is produced by molecular processes that occur due to its molecular structure. Rubber's molecules are polymers, or large, chain-like molecules. Polymers are produced by a process called polymerization. This process builds polymers up by sequentially adding short molecular backbone units to the chain through chemical reactions. A rubber polymer follows a random winding path in three dimensions, intermingling with many other rubber polymers.

View the full Wikipedia page for Rubber elasticity

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⭐ Core Definition: Material failure theory

👉 Material failure theory in the context of Catastrophic failure

Material failure theory in the context of Rubber elasticity