The cell is regarded as the smallest material unit that contains reasonably sufficient information about crack growth in the material. A cell is either in a cohesive state or in a decohesive state, the latter implying instability at load control. It is characterized by its linear size and its cohesion-decohesion relation. The reference case of a uniaxially loaded, originally cubic cell exhibits the cohe- sive strength and the elongations at which decohesion starts and ends. These quantities influence the size and shape of the process region at a crack edge and also the energy required for crack growth.
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