Size and density influence on overall moduli of finite media with cracks

Abstract

This paper deals with the numerical calculations of overall moduli of cracked solid. The variational approach of the displacement discontinuity method is used. Both crack size influence and crack density influence are studied. It is found that for a given crack density, increasing crack size reduce the overall moduli when the overall stresses are assumed to be prescribed. Numerical results are compared with classical estimation schemes such as self-consistent method and differential scheme.