In this study, the problem of finding the limiting load in infinite plates with internal cracks is extended to the non-linear field. In particular, results concerning concrete plates in bi-axial loading are shown. The analysis is performed in discrete form, by means of the Cell Method. The discrete analysis allows us to identify the crack initiation without using the stress intensity factors. T...

Recent work at the Underground Research Laboratory of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Pinawa, Manitoba, has shown that high compressive stresses near the tunnel face significantly contribute to the loss of strength, and eventual failure of the rock, through stress-induced brittle fracturing. A program of laboratory testing has been undertaken to investigate the effects of brittle fracture on...

The damage accumulation condition expressed in terms of traction components on a physical plane is considered for both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. The crack initiation is assumed to correspond to a critical value of damage parameter on a maximum damage plane. A non-local condition is formulated for singular stress or strain regimes. The model is applied to predict damage distributi...

The objective of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of the nonlinear elastic properties of cortical bone to the presence of a single submillimetric crack. Nonlinear elasticity was measured by nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS) in 14 human cortical bone specimens. The specimens were parallelepiped beams (50×2×2 mm(3)). A central notch of 500 µm was made to control crack...

Numerical aspects of the grain level micromechanical model presented in part I are discussed in this study. They include, an examination of solution convergence in the context of cohesive elements used as an approach to model crack initiation and propagation; performance of parametric studies to assess the role of grain boundary strength and toughness, and their stochasticity, on damage initiat...