Identification of Strain-Softening Properties and Computational Predictions of Localized Fracture

摘要

The main objective of the present investigation is to evaluate strain-softening formulations for contained fracture in cementitious materials such as concrete and geo-materials. This report includes two principal developments: a rational approach to identify softening properties due to tensile cracking and frictional slip from displacement controlled material testing, and a systematic verification of contained fracture computations from small-scale structural testing. To this end, a composite damage model is proposed to describe the degradation of strength and stiffness in the post-peak regime with the aid of a volume fraction formulation of localized damage within a finite element.