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We argue that nucleation of brittle cracks in initially flawless soft elasticsolids is preceded by a continuum instability which cannot be captured withoutaccounting for geometrically and physical nonlinearities of the constitutiveresponse. To corroborate this somewhat counterintuitive claim, we present atheoretical and numerical study of the simplest model where a homogeneouselastic body subjected to tension is weakened by a free surface which thenserves as a site of crack nucleation. We show that in this prototypicalsetting, brittle fracture starts as a symmetry breaking elastic instabilityactivated by softening and involving large elastic rotations. The impliedbifurcation of the homogeneous elastic equilibrium is highly unconventional dueto its extraordinary sensitivity to geometry, reminiscent of the transition toturbulence. We trace the development of the instability beyond the limits ofcontinuum elasticity by using quasi-continuum theory allowing one to capturethe ultimate strain localization indicative of the formation of actual cracks.

Elastic instability behind brittle fracture in soft solids