Soft solids are sticky. They attract each other and spontaneously form a large area of
contact. Their force of attraction is higher when separating than when forming contact, a …

A powerful semi-analytical method is developed to investigate the impact of tough inclusions
on crack paths and the resulting effective fracture properties. Using a perturbative approach …

This paper addresses the question of the homogenization of fracture properties for three-
dimensional disordered brittle solids. The effective toughness, identified as the minimum …

This paper continues the study of the effective adhesion of thin films on rigid substrates in
the presence of spatial heterogeneities started in **a et al.(2013). In this paper, we focus on …

When a crack interacts with material heterogeneities, its front distorts and adopts complex
tortuous configurations that are reminiscent of the energy barriers encountered during crack …

In this work, we explore the possibility of controlling toughening mechanisms in brittle
materials through microstructure design to enhance their resistance to crack growth. First, a …

Adhesion hysteresis can be caused by elastic instabilities that are triggered by surface
roughness or chemical heterogeneity. However, the role of these instabilities in adhesion …

Crack fronts deform due to heterogeneities, and inspecting these deformations can reveal
local variations of material properties, and help predict out-of-plane damage. Current …

In the presence of impurities, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric domain walls slide only above
a finite external field. Close to this depinning threshold, they proceed by large and abrupt …

The yield stress of random solid solutions is a classic theme in physical metallurgy that
currently attracts a renewed interest in connection to high entropy alloys. Here, we revisit this …