ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: Following the approach of Gurtin and Podio-Guidugli (1996), (1998), the problem of crack propagation based on the notion of configurational forces and couples in micropolar continua is considered. The derivation of the Eshelby relation was accomplished without recourse to constitutive equations or to a variational principle; the derivation was based on a version of the second law appropriate to referential control volumes whose boundaries evolve with time.