The aim of this work is an analysis of contact pressure between crack surfaces and its influence on effective elastic properties of materials with randomly distributed cracks. The finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element methods (BEM) are applied to the numerical analysis of materials, and the results are compared. Three numerical results are presented. The accuracy of contact pressure obtained by numerical solutions is verified for a single inclined crack in an infinite plate subjected to compression by comparison with an analytical solution. The influence of angle between cracks and directions of compressive loading on contact pressure for a branched crack in a rectangular plate is studied. The effective Young moduli and Poisson ratios for a rectangular plate with randomly distributed cracks are computed. The plate contains intersecting cracks which are in contact when the plate is subjected to tension or compression.

The paper presents an analysis of effective elastic properties of plates with parallel cracks using the finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM). Rectangular plates with parallel or inclined cracks to the edges of plates were considered. Different distances between cracks and different angles of cracks were studied. The displacement and traction boundary conditions were applied and their influence on the accuracy of overall properties of cracked material was analysed. The results obtained by the FEM and the BEM were compared.