Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The dynamic fracture of concrete in tension is studied by applying a continuum damage model developed by the author and his coworkers [1–3]. In this model, the degree of damage in concrete corresponds to the fraction of concrete volume that has been tension relieved, and tensile microcracking has been taken as the damage mechanism. In compression, the concrete is assumed to respond in an elastic/perfectly plastic manner. Strain-rate effects have been explicitly included in the model. Accumulation of damage in the material is reflected by the progressive weakening of the material stiffness. Examples involving center- and edge-cracked plate specimens subjected to the action of step and ramp loads are used to demonstrate the material responses predicted by the model. The bulk pressure versus strain relationships at locations close to the crack tip clearly show strainsoftening behavior. The damage tends to localize around the crack and its extent in the specimen is dependent upon both the crack geometry and the loading type. These results are presented and their implications are discussed.
This work performed at Sandia National Laboratories is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract Number DE-AC04-76D00789.