Interlocking-induced Stiffness in Stochastically Microcracked Materials Beyond the Transport Percolation Threshold

TitleInterlocking-induced Stiffness in Stochastically Microcracked Materials Beyond the Transport Percolation Threshold
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2016
AuthorsPicu, RC, Pal, A, Lupulescu, MV
JournalPhysical Review E
Volume93
Pagination043005
Abstract

We study the mechanical behavior of two-dimensional, stochastically microcracked continua in the range of crack densities close to, and above, the transport percolation threshold. We show that these materials retain stiffness up to crack densities much larger than the transport percolation threshold due to topological interlocking of sample subdomains. Even with a linear constitutive law for the continuum, the mechanical behavior becomes nonlinear in the range of crack densities bounded by the transport and stiffness percolation thresholds. The effect is due to the fractal nature of the fragmentation process and is not linked to the roughness of individual cracks.

URLhttp://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.043005
DOI10.1103/PhysRevE.93.043005