A Theoretical Study of the Application of the Optical Caustics to High-Temperature Creep Fracture Mechanics

In the current study, a theoretical basis is established for interpreting and correlating the optical caustic patterns with the transition of the crack-tip stress and strain fields under high-temperature creep condition. The theory forms a foundation for a possible experimental method based on optical caustics for characterizing the time-dependent fracture at elevated temperatures. Some numerical simulations of the high-temperature caustic phenomena were also performed based on the proposed theory.