| Abstract: | A investigation was made of volumetric failure in silicate glasses K-8 and F-5 and in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and the energy-time characteristics were recorded for the start of the stage of the formation of damage in these materials due to a laser beam. The article discusses a model of the failure of silicate glasses as a result of the absorption of light at microdefects, as well as a model of the formation of cracks from high-temperature sites in polymers, taking account of the durability of the material. An evaluation is made of the power density q and the energy  in the proposed mechanisms for the failure of transparent dielectrics.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 4, pp. 138–145, July–August, 1972.In conclusion the authors thank A. E. Kuznetsov for his part on posing the problem, and V. F. Loskutov and L. N. Nefedov for their help in the experiments. |
