The comprehensive fracture tests of notched and unnotched beams presented in the preceding paper are evaluated to clarify the size effects and fracture energy dissipation. The test results for beams with notches of various lengths agree closely with Bažant’s Type 2 size effect law and yield the value of the initial fracture energy Gf. Since nearly complete post-peak softening load–displacement ...

A constitutive model based on two–dimensional unstructured Galerkin finite volume method (GFVM) is introduced and applied for analyzing nonlinear behavior of cracked concrete structures in equilibrium condition. The developed iterative solver treats concrete as an orthotropic nonlinear material and considers the softening and hardening behavior of concrete under compression and tension by using...

1 Abstract The project has two objectives: (1) to improve the reliability, durability and structural efficiency of infrastructure by transferring the results of previous basic research on fracture mechanics of size effects in concrete structures into: a) design practice, b) design codes, c) standardized materials testing, and d) commercial computer programs; and (2) research the probability str...

Concrete fracture behavior is predicted by one of multi-scaling methods, called the virtual internal bond (VIB) model. The VIB model describes the microscopic interactions between the cement pastes and aggregates using the concept of homogenization. The microscopic behavior is connected to macroscopic behavior by the Cauchy-Born rule, which results in the strain energy function. From the macros...

The role that plastic-frictional energy dissipation in the fracture process zone plays in the workof-fracture method for measuring the fracture energy of concrete or other quasibrittle materials is analyzed, and a possible improvement of this method is proposed. It is shown that by measuring the unloading compliance at a sufficient number of states on the post-peak descending load-deflection cu...

The construction industry generates a considerable amount of waste. Faced with this undesirable situation, the ready-mix concrete sector, in particular, has invested energy and resources into reusing its own waste in its production process as it works towards the goal of more sustainable construction. This study examines the feasibility of incorporating two types of concrete waste, which curren...

The susceptibility of structural concrete to early-age cracking depends on material composition, methods of processing, structural boundary conditions, and a variety of environmental factors. Computational modeling offers a means for identifying primary factors and strategies for reducing cracking potential. Herein, lattice models are shown to be adept at simulating the thermal-hygral-mechanica...