Tweedeactbreuk

Tweedeactbreuk is a term used in Dutch-language geoscience and material science to refer to a secondary rupture that develops after an initial fracture under sustained or redistributed stress. The term combines the Dutch word for second with breuk, meaning fracture or rupture.

Definition and scope: A tweedeactbreuk denotes the formation of a new fracture plane or zone following the primary fracture, often triggered by stress redistribution, crack coalescence, or changes in material properties after initial breakage. It can alter permeability, strength, and the path of subsequent deformation.

Context and mechanisms: Observations occur in brittle rocks under triaxial compression, in rock masses during mining, or in materials subjected to increasing load. The secondary rupture may propagate along pre-existing flaws or create new fracture networks, sometimes interacting with the first fracture.

Detection and study: Researchers rely on microseismic monitoring, acoustic emission, X-ray or CT imaging, and numerical models to identify and analyze second fractures.

Terminology and usage: The term is not widely standardized and appears mainly in niche Dutch-language literature on fracture mechanics and rock mechanics. In broader English-language literature, similar phenomena are generally described as secondary fracture, secondary cracking, or fracture reactivation.

Related topics include fracture mechanics, rock mechanics, and secondary cracking.