Peak Load Response of a Concrete Beam in Mixed-Mode Fracture

Abstract

A major difficulty in simulating load response of a concrete structure in mixed-mode fracture lies in the fact that crack path is not known a priori. Predicting both the crack path and the associated load response involves advanced simulation techniques and novel numerical methodologies. Here, an intrinsic cohesive crack model is employed to study mixed-mode fracture in a concrete beam. The present approach requires neither preliminary results from linear elastic fracture mechanics simulations nor a re-meshing procedure or special implementation to prevent crack locking. Simulations with regular meshes illustrate that this concise approach can provide a reasonable estimation of peak load of the pre-cracked concrete beams in mixed-mode fracture. This study shows that the energy ratio in the bilinear softening law has larger effects than the stress ratio.