PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Compressive Splitting in Brittle Solids: The Inverse of Wrinkling in Sheets
Abstract
Axial splitting is the dominant failure mode of brittle solids under compression, yet its mechanical origin remains unclear. We show that clamped loading platens suppress lateral Poisson expansion, generating boundary-induced tensile stresses at the specimen interior -- the compressive analog of wrinkling in stretched sheets. This mechanism provides a predictive strength law, relating axial splitting to tensile strength, geometry, and confinement pressure. This is validated against diverse materials ranging from rocks to ceramics, establishing axial splitting as a geometry-controlled elastic process rather than a stochastic flaw problem.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{khodadad2026compressive,
title = {{Compressive Splitting in Brittle Solids: The Inverse of Wrinkling in Sheets}},
author = {Maryam Khodadad and Francois Barthelat and John D. Clayton and George Gazonas and Kaushik Dayal},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.22558},
eprint = {2609.22558},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22558},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Compressive Splitting in Brittle Solids: The Inverse of Wrinkling in Sheets
AU - Maryam Khodadad
AU - Francois Barthelat
AU - John D. Clayton
AU - George Gazonas
AU - Kaushik Dayal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.22558
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22558
AB - Axial splitting is the dominant failure mode of brittle solids under compression, yet its mechanical origin remains unclear. We show that clamped loading platens suppress lateral Poisson expansion, generating boundary-induced tensile stresses at the specimen interior -- the compressive analog of wrinkling in stretched sheets. This mechanism provides a predictive strength law, relating axial splitting to tensile strength, geometry, and confinement pressure. This is validated against diverse materials ranging from rocks to ceramics, establishing axial splitting as a geometry-controlled elastic process rather than a stochastic flaw problem.
ER -