Propagation of quasifracture in viscoelastic media under low-cycle repeated stressing

The propagation of a craze as quasifracture under repeated cyclic stressing in polymeric systems has been under intensive investigation recently. Based upon a time-dependent crazing theory, the governing differential equation describing the propagation of a single craze as quasifracture in an infinite viscoelastic plate has been solved for sinusoidal stresses. Numerical methods have been employed to obtain the normalized craze length as a function of time. The computed results indicate that the length of a quasifracture may decelerate and decrease indicating that its velocity can reverse. This behavior may be consistent with the observed and much discussed craze healing and the enclosure model in fatigue and fracture of solids.