Dynamic Fracture in Disordered Media

While it is possible to carry out fracture experiments in single crystals, in everyday experience fracture occurs in heterogeneous and often disordered materials. Tear a piece of paper, and the resulting ragged edge shows evidence of the local variation in the paper's mechanical properties. One might expect the same behavior in fracture of other disordered materials such as polycrystalline solids, fiber composites, and concrete.