Abstract
Several toughening mechanisms for cracks in brittle solids depend on the restraining effects of material elements that bridge the faces of a crack. A standard way of quantifying the toughening effect is to smear-out the restraining stresses provided by the individual bridging elements. The present paper, by using a very simple simulation model which allows for the discreteness of the system, together with a general force-law for the behaviour of an individual bridging element, shows that the smearing-out procedure is valid if the bridging elements are ductile; however, it can underestimate the toughening effect when the elements are brittle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R.M.L. Foote, Y.-W. Mai and B. Cotterell, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 34 (1986) 593.
L.R.F. Rose, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 35 (1987) 382.
B. Budiansky, J.C. Amazigo and A.G. Evans, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 36 (1988) 167.
E.R. Fuller and R. Thomson, in Fracture Mechanics, Vol. 4, R.C. Bradt (eds), Plenum, New York (1978) 507.
E. Smith, in Fracture 1977, Proceedings, 4th International Conference on Fracture, Vol. 4, D.M.R. Taplin (ed) University of Waterloo Press, Waterloo, Ontario (1977) 65.
J. Frenkel and T. Kontorova, Phys. Z. Sowjetunion 13 (1938) 1.
A.A. Griffith, Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society A221 (1920) 163.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, E. Estimating the toughening effect of crack-bridging particles in a brittle matrix. Int J Fract 45, 283–298 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00036272
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00036272