01198nas a2200145   4500008004100000245011900041210006900160300001100229490000700240520068600247100001700933700001200950700002200962856006800984       2016                        eng d00aInterlocking-induced Stiffness in Stochastically Microcracked Materials Beyond the Transport Percolation Threshold0 aInterlockinginduced Stiffness in Stochastically Microcracked Mat  a0430050 v933 a<p>We study the mechanical behavior of two-dimensional, stochastically microcracked continua in the range of crack densities close to, and above, the transport percolation threshold. We show that these materials retain stiffness up to crack densities much larger than the transport percolation threshold due to topological interlocking of sample subdomains. Even with a linear constitutive law for the continuum, the mechanical behavior becomes nonlinear in the range of crack densities bounded by the transport and stiffness percolation thresholds. The effect is due to the fractal nature of the fragmentation process and is not linked to the roughness of individual cracks.</p>
1 aPicu, R., C.1 aPal, A.1 aLupulescu, M., V.  uhttp://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.043005