A mechanisms-based model for dynamic behavior and fracture of geomaterials

A mechanisms-based fracture model applicable to a broad class of earth and earth-like materials is presented. The key features the model captures are: (1) material anisotropy; (2) rate-sensitive directional fracture; (3) dilatational friction; (4) dynamic overstress in loading extremes, where the rate of supplied energy is not fully compensated by the rate of the energy redistribution and release and, lastly, (5) spatial stochasticity due to material heterogeneity. In comparison with more traditional phenomenological descriptions, the contribution of the proposed approach is the utilization of tensor representation theory; the theory is suitable for converting observed deformation and fracture mechanisms into a precise mathematical description of the material's behavior.