Closure of parallel cracks: Micromechanical estimates versus finite element computations

3D finite element simulations have been performed in order to assess the ability of five classical micromechanical estimates to model the elastic behavior of solids with parallel cracks, namely the dilute, Mori-Tanaka, self-consistent and differential schemes and the Ponte-Castaneda and Willis bounds. The cracks have been represented in the simulations by right circular cylinders with aspect ratios as low as 10−3 and with centroids randomly located in the REV. Special attention has been paid to the crack aspect ratio variation predicted by the different schemes, since the goal is ultimately to propose a non-linear micromechanical model of a cracked solid, taking complete crack closure into account.