A microcrack-based continuum damage model with application towards refractories

The present work discusses numerical results of damage evolution due to thermoshock processes at refractory ceramics. Damage patterns have been generated using a two‐scale approach for brittle materials, implemented into a finite element framework. For this purpose, a cell model has been employed, incorporating cracks on a microscopic level. The impact of these discontinuities on macroscopic material properties and damage evolution is determined with the help of analytical homogenization techniques. Finally, the potential of the numerical tool is demonstrated by means of refractory bricks, being imposed by thermomechanical loading. (© 2016 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)