Fracture on Curved Surfaces

When an elastic film conforms to a surface with Gaussian curvature, stresses arise in the film. As a result, cracks---typically studied in flat materials---interact with curvature when propagating through the system. Using silicone elastomer sheets that conform to the surface of a Gaussian bump, we find experimental evidence for the deflection of a crack propagating through the material. We interpret our experiments with reference to analytical modeling and simulations of a simplified model system.