Continuum field description of crack propagation
  We develop continuum field model for crack propagation in brittle amorphous solids. The model is represented by equations for elastic displacements combined with the order parameter equation which accounts for the dynamics of defects. This model captures all important phenomenology of crack propagation: crack initiation, propagation, dynamic fracture instability, sound emission, crack branching and fragmentation. 
I.S. Aranson, V.A. Kalatsky, and V.M. Vinokur