An alternating method based on the VNA solution for analysis of damaged solid containing arbitrarily distributed elliptical microcracks

This paper presents the development of an alternating method for the interaction analysis of arbitrary distributed numerous elliptical microcracks. The complete analytical solutions (VNA solutions) for a single elliptical crack in an infinite solid, subject to arbitrary crack-face tractions, are implemented in the present alternating method, together with the coordinate transformations for stress tensors. First, the present method is verified by solving the problems of two interacting cracks for which accurate numerical solutions have been obtained previously. Next, the present method demonstrates obtaining efficient and accurate solutions for the problems of many interacting elliptical cracks, which cannot be solved in a practical sense by the ordinary numerical methods such as the finite element method. Furthermore, damaged solids containing periodically distributed elliptical microcracks are analyzed by the present alternating method. The effective elastic moduli are evaluated for varying microcrack density. Detailed structures of the interactions in the damaged solids are visualized and clarified. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.