Deformation of inhomogeneous elastic solids with two-dimensional damage

A general correlation is derived between macroscopic stresses/strains and microscopic deformation on the damage surfaces for inhomogeneous elastic solids with two-dimensional damage. Assuming linear elastic behavior for the undamaged materials, the macroscopic deformation associated with nonlinear strains, or damage strains, is shown to be the weighted sum of the microscopic deformations on the damage surfaces. For inhomogeneous materials with periodic, structures (laminated composites, for example) and various identifiable damage modes, simple relations are derived between the macroscopic deformation and microscopic damage. When the number of identifiable damage modes is less than or equal to the number of relevant measurable macroscopic strains, the correlation can be used to evaluate the damage progression from simple macroscopic stress and strain measurements. The simple case of a unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite under longitudinal load is used to show how the results can help detect and characterize the damage using macroscopic measurements, without resorting to assumptions of detailed microscopic deformation mechanisms.