Academics / Courses / Course DescriptionsMECH_ENG 495: Fracture of Soft Materials
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Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of solid mechanics and chemistry.Description
ME 495: Fracture of Soft Materials (Winter 2024)
Instructor: Prof. Junsoo Kim
Email: junsoo.kim@northwestern.edu
Office: Catalysis 326
Office Hours: For 30 mins after each class at the classroom, 1:1 OH by appointment
Class Times: TTh 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Location: TBD
Course Description
In this course, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the fracture of soft materials and experimental approaches to measure the fracture properties of soft materials.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of solid mechanics and chemistry. Taking ME495 Elasticity of Soft Materials is recommended.
Course outline
- Week 1: Review of thermodynamics
- Week 2: Griffith theory
- Week 3: Energy release rate
- Week 4: Toughness
- Week 5: Crack-tip field
- Week 6: Crack bridging
- Week 7: Rivlin-Thomas method
- Week 8: J integral
- Week 9: Fatigue
- Week 10: Adhesion
- Week 11: Case study
Homework
There are weekly homework assignments during the term, due in one week. The homework aims to digest the concepts taught in the class by giving an opportunity to have hands-on experience.
Final exam
The final exam is an oral exam. The student will receive a problem set 30 mins prior to the oral exam and present the answers to the instructor for 30 mins. The final exam is based on homework.
Grading
Homework (60%), Final exam (40%)
References
Course notes
Fracture Mechanics by Zhigang Suo
Books
Polymer Physics by M. Rubinstein, Ralph H. Colby
Fracture Behaviour of Polymers by Robert J. Young A. J. Kinloch, Anthony J. Kinloch
Fracture of Brittle Solids by Lawn
Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications by Ted L. Anderson