Pal A, Picu CR. Stiffness Percolation in Stochastically Fragmented Continua.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2017;
119:085502. [PMID:
28952745 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.119.085502]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We study the mechanical behavior of three-dimensional, randomly microcracked continua for crack densities up to and above the transport percolation threshold. We show the existence of a fully fragmented material state in which stiffness is preserved due to topological interlocking of fragments. In this regime, the mechanical behavior is controlled by the contacts between fragments and becomes nonlinear. The upper limit of crack densities for which this behavior is observed, the stiffness percolation threshold, is identified. The variation of the effective material stiffness for crack densities ranging from 0 to the stiffness percolation threshold is reported.
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