A unified energy approach to a class of micromechanics models for microcracked solids

Micromechanics models have been developed for the determination of the elastic moduli of microcracked solids based on different approaches and interpretations, including the dilute or non- interacting solution, the Mori- Tanaka method, the self-consistent method, and the generalized self-consistent method. It is shown in the present study that all these micromechanics models can be unified within an energy-equivalence framework, and that they differ only in the way in which the microcrack opening and sliding displacements are evaluated. Relevance to the differential methods and the verification of these models are discussed.