Fracture occurs when the applied stress is sufficient to break the atomic bonds of the solid ( Anderson, 1995 Scholz, 2002). To study fracture mechanics, three important variables have to be taken into account: the applied stress, the size of the initially present flaw, and the fracture toughness ( Anderson, 1995). A short review of the fundamentals of crack propagation in linear elastic material is given, followed by a discussion on the effects of environmental conditions on propagation velocity. Crack propagation may occur at low stress and is usually characterized by a slow propagation, so it is often referred to as subcritical crack propagation or stress corrosion. However, as it will be presented here, slow crack propagation in rocks is affected by the environment and the fluid chemistry and can be seen as mechanical phenomenon facilitated by chemical effects. Jean-Pierre Gratier, in Advances in Geophysics, 2013 3.2.1.2 Subcritical Crack PropagationĬrack propagation is described using fracture mechanics theory and would therefore have its place in the mechanical compaction section.
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