Design methods for analysis of damage accumulating structures

The state of brittle materials is to a large extent governed by the microdefects continuously distributed throughout the volume. The exact, nonlinear analysis of structures made of brittle materials which degrade with incrementing load requires special computer codes and a significant period of time. This paper focuses on the formulation of simple design methods for analysis of such structures. Based on the Continuous Damage Mechanics and few simplifying assumptions formulated was a simple one-dimensional model which can be applied over a rather class of structures. The computed results clearly demonstrate the trends typical of brittle materials. (orig.)