Simulation of crack nucleation in homogeneous material containing regularly spaced pores under the action of uniaxial compression

A numerical study of the initial stage of crack growth in a material containing spherical voids (pores) has been carried out using the finite element method for further numerical evaluation of the duration of initial stages of quasi-brittle fracture of heterophase, in particular ceramic materials and refractories. The effect of the distance between voids and material properties on the localization of crack nucleation and its growth direction was investigated. Both brittle and ductile materials were considered. It has been established that properties of material and the mutual arrangement of defects significantly influence the propagation direction of cracks, which nucleate at stress concentrators (structural defects), up until the directions are mutually perpendicular. Dimensions of the area of influence of spherical defects on each other, beyond which the stress fields of neighbouring elements of the structure do not overlap, have been calculated; these dimensions are dependent on the elastic characteristics of the matrix material.