TC Update 2015

TC5 meeting was organized during ICM12 in Karlsruhe, Germany. The meeting was attended by several ESIS/TC5 members.

The main topic of the discussion was reinvigoration of TC5 activities.

The following actions were suggested:

• to use the platform of ECF (European Conference on Fracture) - starting with the next meeting in 2016 in Catania, Italy - for consolidation of the dynamic-fracture activities by organizing dedicated sessions;
• to consider organizing special events (e.g. EUROMECH Colloquia) in years without ECF meetings;
• to put emphasis on participation of early-stage researchers in these events;
• to invite industrial partners to these events;
• to approach the ESIS regarding possibility of sending out information about the TC5's "new start" and invitation to the ECF Special Session in Dynamic Fracture to all ESIS members;
• to support self-organization of interest groups of TC5 members, creating, if needed, respective subcommittees.
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As a result, Minisymposium “Dynamic Fracture” (chaired by Y. Petrov and V. Silberschmidt) was included into the ECF21 program (see http://www.ecf21.eu/). All TC5 members are encouraged to submit their papers and recommend their colleagues with interests covered by the symposium’s topic to submit their abstracts to the minisymposium (Deadline: 30.11.2015).

Six topics were chosen as points of special interest of TC5 within its scope:

1) Dynamics of fracture in brittle long-range ordered materials (brittle crystals): study of energy-speed relationship for a single crack (theoretical, experimental and numerical); fracture mechanisms along a crack front; an effect of a reflected stress wave.

2) Dynamics of fracture via atomistic simulations to understand the atomistic scale of dynamic fracture.

3) Metamaterials with special performances in dynamics and dynamic testing protocols for specially engineered materials, which might require non-standard measurements.

4) Application of the incubation-time approach to quasi-brittle materials.

5) Development of new engineering standards and recommendations for testing the strength of materials undergoing high-rate dynamic deformation. The development of standard testing procedure providing a set of material properties should be accompanied by elaboration and dissemination of simple (easily applicable in engineering practice) criteria capable of reliable prediction, based on the measured material properties and strength of material/structure undergoing dynamic deformation.

6) Dynamic fracture of composites.

Prof. Vadim Silberschmidt (Loughborough University, UK) was elected to serve as TC5 vice-chairman and Dr Vladimir Bratov (St. Petersburg State University, Russia) was elected to serve as TC5 secretary