Effective elastic moduli of two dimensional solids with distributed cohesive microcracks

Effective elastic properties of a defected solid with distributed cohesive micro-cracks are estimated based on homogenization of the Dugdale–Bilby–Cottrell–Swinden (Dugdale–BCS) type micro-cracks in a two dimensional elastic representative volume element (RVE).Since the cohesive micro-crack model mimics various realistic bond forces at micro-scale, a statistical average of cohesive defects can effectively represent the overall properties of the material due to bond breaking or crack surface separation in small scale. The newly proposed model is distinctive in the fact that the resulting effective moduli are found to be pressure sensitive.