Recent progress in the description of inelastic behaviour of materials with microdefects

For solids containing microdefects such as cracks, inhomogeneities, voids, or gas bubbles, the overall effective moduli are estimated. Two possible extreme cases are discussed: (1) when defects are randomly distributed throughout an elastic matrix, and (2) when this distribution is periodic. It is shown that the assumption of periodic distribution leads to results which are in very good accord with experiments. These results are used to estimate overall moduli of type 316 stainless steel subjected to neutron irradiation. (orig.)