MODELS FOR CRACKING OF POLYMER-COATINGS

We investigate the dynamics of cracking of a brittle coating covering an elastically stretched substrate. We consider here a scalar model (a n electrical analogue) in order to describe fractures in thin and in t hick films. The model captures the essential features of the fragmenta tion of coatings and allows us to classify different temporal regimes in the cracking process and to obtain several basic patterns of the cr acks' morphology.