An efficient method is presented to characterize the damage state for two-dimensional multicracked elastic solids. This method is based on the concept of a path-independent M-c-integral, through which the surface energy associated with creation of all the cracks is evaluated. On one hand, when the cracked media are homogeneously stressed, the correspondence relation between the effective material moduli and M-c is established. On the other hand, when the cracked solids are nonhomogeneously stressed, the effective structural stiffness is determined by using the result of M-c. Through proper use of M-c, the damage state of the cracked structure can be assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively.
