AN EMBEDDED STRONG DISCONTINUITY MODEL FOR THE NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CONCRETE CRACKING

摘要

The paper deals with the development and the application of a model for concrete cracking, consisting of the combination of a rotating smeared crack model with a crack model based on the strong discontinuity approach and formulated within the framework of elements with embedded discontinuities. The interface law, describing the behavior of an embedded discontinuity, accounts for both normal and tangential crack opening, the latter being accompanied by transfer of shear forces across the rough crack faces. In addition, for immersed cracks the water pressure, acting on the crack faces, is taken into account. The predictive capabilities of the model are shown by the numerical simulation of some experiments and by the application to the numerical simulation of crack propagation in a concrete gravity dam.