THE EFFECT OF MATERIAL STOCHASTICITY ON CRACK DAMAGE INTERACTION AND CRACK-PROPAGATION

The problem of propagating crack characterization is examined for a case of a stochastic brittle medium. Crack damage interaction and its influence on fracture kinetics are accounted for by means of continuum damage, mechanics and stochastic values of stress intensity factor. The two-dimensional problem of a crack propagation in a rectangular cross-section of a notched specimen is numerically simulated. It is shown that the fractal dimension of a crack front is a fracture process invariant for stochastic materials. The effect of a material's stochasticity on the characteristic features of crack propagation and on the crack front morphology is studied.