New Elastoplasticity Model for Porous Materials That Emulates the Onset of Anticracks in Snow Fracture Experiments

The anticrack is a peculiar fracture process that is believed to occur in dry snow slab avalanches. Interestingly, it has also been reported in superheated ice, deep earthquakes, and submarine landslides.

In this study, we evaluated the performance of a new elastoplasticity model for porous materials, which reproduces the onset of anticracks in a snow fracture experiment. A modified strain-softening plastic flow rule is used to capture the complexity of porous materials under mixed-mode loading. The key to the model's performance is its ability to emulate the onset of the anticrack.

We examined the anticrack's performance in two experiments. Each lasted two hours and consisted of three test phases. First, we poured concrete to a designated location below the structural main reinforcement. Next, we fixed the rebar mesh at the design position. After this, we performed a series of tests. Finally, we measured the vertical displacement of markers placed at various points on the slab. The results show that a number of interesting features occurred during the testing process.

In the two cited tests, the anticrack's most notable feat was a reversible fracture that started at the crown of the avalanche, traveled down the weak layer, and then branched outwards. This is the first time that this particular feat has been documented in a laboratory setting.

Of course, this feat has been surpassed by many other achievements in this study. Moreover, the most interesting is a new elastoplasticity modeling strategy for porous materials that successfully mimics the onset of anticracks.