CRACK PATTERNS AND STRAIN-ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS IN MODEL BRITTLE SYSTEMS IN A RANDOM ENVIRONMENT

Monte Carlo simulations of crack growth are performed using simple two-dimensional model systems for brittle materials. Crack growth is modelled as a series of processes of release and transfer of strain energies on the system of square grains. The simulations are concerned with crack growth in a random environment. Considerable attention is paid to the correlation between crack patterns and strain energy distributions. It is shown that the model system settles into a stationary state. In this state, the features of crack pattern have a close relation to the characteristics of strain energy distribution. Some implications of the results are discussed in regard to crack patterns caused by heating, radiation, or random mechanical loading on the surface of real brittle materials.