https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2012-01595-1
Regular Article
Mesoscale simulation of concrete spall failure
Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI, Eckerstr. 4, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
a e-mail: martin.sauer@emi.fraunhofer.de
Received:
7
December
2011
Revised:
13
March
2012
Published online:
7
May
2012
Although intensively studied, it is still being debated which physical mechanisms are responsible for the increase of dynamic strength and fracture energy of concrete observed at high loading rates, and to what extent structural inertia forces on different scales contribute to the observation. We present a new approach for the three dimensional mesoscale modelling of dynamic damage and cracking in concrete. Concrete is approximated as a composite of spherical elastic aggregates of mm to cm size embedded in an elastic cement stone matrix. Cracking within the matrix and at aggregate interfaces in the μm range are modelled with adaptively inserted—initially rigid—cohesive interface elements. The model is applied to analyse the dynamic tensile failure observed in Hopkinson-Bar spallation experiments with strain rates up to 100/s. The influence of the key mesoscale failure parameters of strength, fracture energy and relative weakening of the ITZ on macromechanic strength, momentum and energy conservation is numerically investigated.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2012
