Bursts in a fiber bundle model with continuous damage.

We study the constitutive behavior, the damage process, and the properties of bursts in the continuous damage fiber bundle model introduced recently. Depending on its two parameters, the model provides various types of constitutive behaviors including macroscopic plasticity. Analytical results are obtained to characterize the damage process along the plastic plateau under strain controlled loading; furthermore, for stress controlled experiments we develop a simulation technique, and numerically explore the distribution of bursts of fiber breaks assuming an infinite range of interaction. Simulations revealed that under certain conditions power law distribution of bursts arises with an exponent significantly different from the mean field exponent 5/2. A phase diagram of the model characterizing the possible burst distributions is constructed.