Intrinsic failure modes of brittle material

The present study reviews the application of damage mechanics to the prediction of the material failure caused by the evolving density of microcracks. The loss of homogeneity on the specimen size is common to all failure modes considered in this study. The transition between a statistically homogeneous to a heterogeneous state of strain and damage depends on the morphology of defect clusters, state of stress, strain rate and microstructural disorder. As a result the failure can occur in several different ways. A rich spectrum of physical phenomena and new concepts that emerge from these considerations demonstrates the successes and limitations of the traditional, deterministic, and local continuum models. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved