| Abstract: | We propose a model based on the statistical analysis of fracture processes and a concept of effective medium when a system of structural elements of different kinds is regarded as a quasihomogeneous medium with certain effective properties. This approach enables one to compute parameters of the stable stage of fracture of composite materials. The suggested model is used for the prediction of critical values of the parameters corresponding to the transition to unstable fracture under uniaxial tension. We also compare two-phase composites with brittle and plastic phases with strong and weak interfaces between the structural elements, respectively.Frantsevich Institute for Problems in Materials Science, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev. Translated from Fiziko-Khimicheskaya Mekhanika Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 51–58, November–December, 1995. |
