HETEROGENEOUS SOLIDS .2. NUMERICAL 2-D RESULTS ON BOUNDARY AND OTHER RELEVANT PHENOMENA

This two-part study explores the consequences of material heterogeneit y on the response of an externally loaded structure/specimen near its boundaries. The single deviation from the framework of classical (homo geneous) linear elasticity is that the elastic properties of the mater ial form a stationary random field. In this second part, it is first s hown how the internal variables like stresses, strains and energy are correlated with the Young's modulus, and conclusions about the effect of a local failure criterion upon global failure are drawn. Then, boun dary effects for which an analytical solution is not straightforward a re enlightened. The effects yet found in one dimension are now coupled with those of the free boundary effect. The consequences of the free boundary on size related phenomena and the implications of spatial cor relations on failure are analyzed and discussed in relation to the so- called characteristic material length and nonlocal models.