Kinetic theory of low-temperature microscopic crack nucleation in crystals

Microscopic crack nucleation in a strained crystal is regarded as kinetic structural transformation associated with a change in the short-range order in atomic distribution and with excess-volume localization under deformation. The short-range order in the atomic distribution found in a strained medium is described by two order parameters. In the local approximation of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, equations describing the evolution of the order parameters are derived. Solutions for the decomposition of the homogeneous state with the formation of pores are proposed and microcracking conditions are considered.