Ref HAL: hal-00503271_v1
PMID 19518646
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.155501
WoS: 000265285700042
Exporter : BibTex | endNote
61 Citations
Résumé:

We show that a large class of viscoelastic fluids, i.e., transient networks, are brittle according to the Griffith's theory of solid fracture. However, contrary to solids, cracks are intrinsic to the material arising from the equilibrium nature of the fluid microstructure. The brittleness of these fluids comes from thermal fluctuations of bonds distribution. In this approach, the rupture stress is predicted to be on the order of the Young modulus, in very good agreement with experimental values.