AUTHOR=Pradhan Srutarshi , Kjellstadli Jonas T. , Hansen Alex TITLE=Variation of Elastic Energy Shows Reliable Signal of Upcoming Catastrophic Failure JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics VOLUME=7 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2019.00106 DOI=10.3389/fphy.2019.00106 ISSN=2296-424X ABSTRACT=

We consider the Equal-Load-Sharing Fiber Bundle Model as a model for composite materials under stress and derive elastic energy and damage energy as a function of strain. With gradual increase of stress (or strain) the bundle approaches a catastrophic failure point where the elastic energy is always larger than the damage energy. We observe that elastic energy has a maximum that appears after the catastrophic failure point is passed, i.e., in the unstable phase of the system. However, the slope of elastic energy vs. strain curve has a maximum which always appears before the catastrophic failure point and therefore this can be used as a reliable signal of upcoming catastrophic failure. We study this behavior analytically for power-law type and Weibull type distributions of fiber thresholds and compare the results with numerical simulations on a single bundle with large number of fibers.