@article {43,
	title = {Concurrent factors determine toughening in the hydraulic fracture of poroelastic composites},
	journal = {Meccanica},
	volume = {52},
	year = {2017},
	pages = {3489-3498},
	abstract = {<p align="justify">Brittle materials fail catastrophically. In consequence of their limited flaw-tolerance, failure occurs by localized fracture and is typically a dynamic process. Recently, experiments on epithelial cell monolayers have revealed that this scenario can be significantly modified when the material susceptible to cracking is adhered to a hydrogel substrate. Thanks to the hydraulic coupling between the brittle layer and the poroelastic substrate, such a composite can develop a toughening mechanism that relies on the simultaneous growth of multiple cracks. Here, we study this remarkable behaviour by means of a detailed model, and explore how the material and loading parameters concur in determining the macro- scopic toughness of the system. By extending a previous study, our results show that rapid loading conveys material toughness by promoting distributed cracking. Moreover, our theoretical findings may suggest innovative architectures of flaw-insensitive materials with higher toughness.\&nbsp;</p>},
	keywords = {brittle layer, cohesive zone, fracture, hydraulic fracture, hydrogel, multiple-cracking, toughening},
	doi = {10.1007/s11012-017-0621-5},
	author = {Alessandro Lucantonio and Giovanni Noselli}
}
