Fracture and healing of elastomers: Theory and numerical implementation

In this work, we put forth a theory for the nucleation, growth, and healing of internal cavities, micro-cracks, and macro-cracks in elastomers undergoing finite deformations. The formulation, which leverages the classical work of Bourdin, Francfort and Marigo [1], is presented in the setting of nonlinear elasticity. We further put forth a numerical implementation of the proposed theory, as well as present sample results and comparisons with poker-chip and Gent-Park-type experiments on natural rubber and PDMS. Inter alia, these sample results are aimed at supporting the viewpoint that the so-called phenomenon of cavitation in elastomers is first and foremost a fracture phenomenon.