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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
We use molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the evolution of a crack front in interfacial fracture in three dimensions. We find that when a crack passes through a localized region of heterogeneous toughness, crack front waves are initiated and propagate laterally. We also investigate the development of roughness of the crack front when the crack propagates in a region of heterogeneous toughness. We find that in steady state the mean square width W of the front scales with system size L as W∼L0.35, in agreement with recent theoretical predictions.