Compressive brittle fracture and the construction of multi-axial failure maps

Abstract

Cracks, holes, and inclusions in an elastic solid can interact with a compressive stress field in a way which causes new cracks to grow from them. If these cracks extend to the sample surface, or if they interact with each other so that they grow in an unstable manner, then a macroscopic failure may follow. The initiation and growth of cracks from pores has been considered by Sammis & Ashby (1986): that from small angled cracks is analysed by Nemat-Nasser & Horii (1982), Cooksley (1984), and Ashby & Hallam (1986). In this chapter we consider the growth of cracks in compressive stress states and how they interact to cause a macroscopic failure.