Abstract: Crack interaction in materials is an important research area of fracture mechanics that plays a fundamental role in various fields, but few studies have been conducted on the interaction between internal cracks of brittle spherical material. Based on the 3D-internal laser-engraved crack(3D-ILC) technology, two 45° embedded cracks were generated internally in the spherical glass, and uniaxial compression test was performed. The crack propagation, failure morphology and interaction of the cracks were analysed in this experimental research. The distributions of KⅠ, KⅡ, KⅢ were also analysed based on the M-integral, and the results were consistent with experiments. The results show that: 1) The interaction between two cracks occurs in the test. Due to the shielding effect between the double embedded cracks, the crack growth presents obvious anti-symmetric characteristics. 2) The wing crack growth surface presents both smooth area and tear area, corresponding to the I-II crack and III crack respectively. 3) The simulation result is consistent with the experimental observation. The 3D-ILC technology introduced by the paper can provide experimental and theoretical basis for the study of fracture theory of brittle spheres with parallel internal cracks.

Key words: 3D-internal laser-engraved crack(3D-ILC), fracture mechanics, internal crack propagation, brittle material, interaction of cracks