Mesomechanics of multiple cracking of brittle coatings in a loaded solid

The paper deals with an analysis of two kinds of multiple cracking in a loaded solid with a brittle coating. First is the front-wise development of opening mode cracks, while the second is the formation of a system of sliding mode cracks along conjugate directions of maximum tangential stresses τmax. The mesomechanics of each kind of multiple cracking is discussed. The conditions which provide an increase in both the strength and the ductility of a loaded solid experiencing multiple cracking are formulated; the essence of the model is the growth of cracks in the sliding mode along conjugate directions of maximum tangential stresses