OVERVIEW ON MESOMECHANICS OF PLASTIC-DEFORMATION AND FRACTURE OF SOLIDS

Mesomechanics involves analyzing the deformation and/or fracture of so lids at the micro-, meso- and macro-scale level. Base elements for eac h scale level are chosen such that the behavior of the solid would be described by a combination of these elements. Special attention is giv en to the fragmentation of solid which is the main character of plasti c flow at the mesoscale level. The final stage of fragmentation corres ponds to fracture as the changes from the meso- to the macro-scale lev el. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.