Brittle fracture in disordered media: from reservoir rocks to composite solids

We describe and discuss recent discrete models of brittle fracture in disordered media. By comparing the predictions of these models with the experimental data, we argue that such models can provide a rational explanation and quantitative predictions for many fracture properties of disordered media, ranging from reservoir rocks to composite solids such as polymers, metals and ceramics. These models also provide novel predictions that can be used for characterization of fractured media.