Some effects of microcracks on the mechanical properties of brittle solids—I. Stress, strain relations

Abstract An analysis of microcracking in a brittle polycrystalline aggregate is presented. The analysis is based on the combined influence of the residual stress and the applied loads. Microcrack densities are predicted as a function of load and correlated with acoustic emission measurements. The nonlinear characteristics of the stress-strain curves of microcracking materials are calculated, as required for subsequent evaluation of microcrack toughening in brittle materials.