Role of Material Fabric in Flexural Failure in Concrete
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 147, Issue 12
Abstract
A recently developed discrete-element capability was used to study the effect of mesogeometry on flexural failure in concrete. Fabric anisotropy in angular specimens was found to retard flexural crack growth. The fabric also played a key role in determining the geometry of the fracture process zone. Greater dispersion in the local fabric resulted in more tortuous cracks. Specimens with angular particles exhibited more crack branching and tortuosity, and hence had higher macrofracture energy, than specimens with rounded aggregates. Aggregate shape affected the peak stress and postpeak response of notched specimens. The slowing of crack growth and nonmonotonic evolution of the fracture process zone, also observed in experiments, was investigated. Crack tip shielding was found to play a critical role in explaining this behavior.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including stress-strain, fabric, and damage data.
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Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 147 • Issue 12 • December 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2021
Accepted: Aug 22, 2021
Published online: Oct 4, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 4, 2022
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