Simple Network Model for Reinforcement of Materials with Voids

摘要

In nature, some materials with voids are strong and tough. For example, voids in apples contribute to their toughness, the exoskeleton of sea cucumbers has many voids that contribute to the highly resilient texture that Japanese people enjoy eating, and biosilica, known for its remarkable porous structure, is reinforced by the structure Inspired by such biological examples, we here study the strength of materials with voids, or porous materials. To discuss the strength of materials, we exploit a well-established strategy in fracture mechanics: we consider a sample with a macroscopic crack (larger than the minimum length scale below which continuum mechanics breaks down) and examine how the sample maintains its strength.