TY - JOUR
T1 - Mechanism of size effect in quasi-brittle materials by focusing on the micro-crack formations
AU - Kurumatani, Mao
AU - Terada, Kenjiro
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - In this paper, we study the size effect of the macroscopic mechanical behavior of quasi-brittle materials such as concrete and mortar by applying the method of multi-scale analysis to take into account the generation and propagation of micro-cracks. For micro-scale analyses, the cohesive crack model is used to characterize the quasi-brittle softening behavior in conjunction with the discrete crack model for representing the generation and propagation of microscopic fractured surfaces. After reviewing the two-scale boundary value problems based on the homogenization method and the modeling of quasi-brittle fracture in micro-scale, we perform two numerical experiments to reveal the predominant factor of the size effect and to clarify its mechanism. One is for a comparative study to evaluate the effect of the amount of micro-crack formation on the macroscopic fracture energy. The other is to point out the importance of distinguishing between the microscopic size effect due to the micro-scale heterogeneity and the macroscopic size effect as energy balance in the overall structure.
AB - In this paper, we study the size effect of the macroscopic mechanical behavior of quasi-brittle materials such as concrete and mortar by applying the method of multi-scale analysis to take into account the generation and propagation of micro-cracks. For micro-scale analyses, the cohesive crack model is used to characterize the quasi-brittle softening behavior in conjunction with the discrete crack model for representing the generation and propagation of microscopic fractured surfaces. After reviewing the two-scale boundary value problems based on the homogenization method and the modeling of quasi-brittle fracture in micro-scale, we perform two numerical experiments to reveal the predominant factor of the size effect and to clarify its mechanism. One is for a comparative study to evaluate the effect of the amount of micro-crack formation on the macroscopic fracture energy. The other is to point out the importance of distinguishing between the microscopic size effect due to the micro-scale heterogeneity and the macroscopic size effect as energy balance in the overall structure.
KW - Cohesive crack model
KW - Fracture energy
KW - Fracture process zone
KW - Homogenization method
KW - Micro-crack growth
KW - Size effect in quasi-brittle materials
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79954443616&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79954443616&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2208/jsceja.65.216
DO - 10.2208/jsceja.65.216
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79954443616
VL - 65
SP - 216
EP - 227
JO - Doboku Gakkai Ronbunshuu A
JF - Doboku Gakkai Ronbunshuu A
SN - 1880-6023
IS - 1
ER -