Desiccation Cracks and their Patterns

INTRODUCTIONBasic Conditions for Crack FormationLinear ElasticityLinear Elastic Fracture Mechanics: Griffith and IrwinPoro-ElasticityProcess of DesiccationDrying Regimes, Constant Rate/Falling Rate PeriodsWater Transport in a Drying Soil: Basics of Capillary Flow and Vapor TransportHow Capillary Forces give Rise to StressesEnergy ConsiderationsDriving Force for Cracking during DryingLength Scales: through-Thickness Cracks, Channel Cracks, Interface Cracks, etc.Fracture Saturation - Crack Spacing is similar to Layer ThicknessNon-Linear and Dissipative EffectsDYNAMICS AND PATTERNSPropagation of a Crack - Crack Velocity - self-affine StructureThe Crack Network - 2 dimensional View - self Similarity - fractal DimensionInstabilities: wavy Cracks, en Echelon/en passant Cracks, Star-Cracks, Wing-Cracks, etc.Transition from Dendrites to Fracture Cracks in 3 Dimensions - geological Formations - Cracks in Soil - Cracking versus Peeling Columnar Joints - Desiccation induced analogue produced in the LabColumnar Joints in Lava and Starch, SummaryScaling: Spacing related to effective Layer Thickness, set by Advection-Diffusion.Ordering - Cracks interact and evolve from Squares to Hexagons.Extensions to other Patterns: Permafrost/polygonal Terrain, evolving Mud Cracks, Surface Cracks in erosional Systems.Practical Applications, estimating Cooling Rate, Conditions during Formation.THEORETICAL ANALYSIS AND MODELING Channeling CracksSpecial Solutions; Relation of Channeling to Tunneling cracksEffects of Substrate Elasticity, Dunders Parameters (Non-Dimensionalization)TAILORING CRACK PATTERNSMemory Effect - Effect of Vibration, Rotation and FlowEffect of Fields - Electric - DC and AC and Magnetic NUMERICAL METHODS:Random Fuse ModelsSpring Network ModelsOther ModelsPOSSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF STUDY OF CRACKSDesigning Crack resistant Materials and CompositesControlling Crack Formation for Micro to Nano-Scale PatterningCONCLUSION

Sujata Tarafdar joined the faculty of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in 1990 and at present is a Professor of Physics there. Her research interest covers: fractals and disordered systems, pattern formation in nature, viscous fingering and crack networks, soft condensed matter, porous media and polymer electrolytes. She is coordinator of the Condensed Matter Physics Research Centre, Jadavpur University and general secretary of the Indian Society of Nonlinear Analysts. She is on the editorial board of Frontiers in Physics (Nature publishing group) as a review editor.Akio Nakahara is the Associate Professor of Physics at Nihon University, Japan. Having obtained his PhD degree at Kyushu University, he spent four years as a PostDoc at Chuo University, and then joined Nihon University. He has worked on the Physics of Pattern Formation, and recently he found a method to control morphology of crack patterns using memory effect of plastic fluid.Tapati Dutta is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, India. Having completed her Master's degree from Calcutta University and her PhD from Jadavpur University, she joined the Physics Department of St. Xavier's College in 1990 and has been continuing since then. She formerly was Head of the Department and is at present Dean of Research of St. Xavier's College. She is a member of the academic committee of the Condensed Mater Physics Research Centre of Jadavpur University. Dr. Dutta is also a member of the Indian Society of Non-linear Analysts. Her research interests are condensed matter physics and nonlinear dynamics. So Kitsunezaki is an Associate professor of the department of physics at Nara women's university, Japan. After receiving his PhD at Kyoto University in 1997, he has taught in the university until now. He specialises in nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation. He studied the pattern formation of mud cracks and columnar joints of starch, theoretically and experimentally, and his