Nonlinear analysis of the fracture surface of a single-crystal brittle solid

The dynamical behavior of a spatial fracture mechanism in a rapid crack in a single-crystal brittle solid was under investigation. Wide thin strips like specimens were fractured under three-point bending. The spatial mechanism was photographed and digitized, and the results were then studied using nonlinear analysis. The nonlinear tools used were correlation dimension, false nearest neighbor, null hypothesis surrogate data, and the dominant Lyapunov exponent. The governing equation of motion in the analyzed region is a differential equations with a minimum of seven independent dynamical variables, in contrast to a single independent variable used in analytical calculations.