Micro-crack damage in strip of fracture process zone

Damage and fracture of quasi-brittle materials are non-reversible processes of micro-defects and micro-cracks, often accompanied by a strip of micro-crack damage along the end of the macro-crack or gap. In this work, the micro-crack damage parameters in the strip are calculated, and a mechanics model is proposed to analyze the relation between deformation and force. The mechanics parameters are also determined using meso-mechanics homogenization of the damage zone of the micro-crack strip. Then, calculations of the deformation and stress in the damage strip are introduced, and the damage factor is estimated using a cohesive crack model. Finally, the relationship between the micro-crack and macro-fracture zone is correlated to electron microscopy data of a cast iron specimen and numerical results. For the damage factor, damage density, and geometrical factors of micro-cracks, the meso-mechanics scale is correlated to macro-mechanics in the damage fracture process zone by combining the homogenization method and cohesive crack model of nonlinear fracture.