Fractures and Defects in Cosserat Continua Modelling Layered Materials

Abstract

This paper considers fracture of layered materials consisting of many layers that are thin compared to the characteristic size of the loading (eg, wave length). In this case the explicit modelling of fracturing of every layer becomes cumbersome. Instead, we represent the material as an equivalent continuum that provides a large-scale (average) description of the material response to loading. This is achieved by introducing volume elements that are much greater than the layer thickness and, at the same time, much smaller than the characteristic length of stress variations. It should be noted that in this approach no lengths smaller than the volume element size can be distinguished.