On a computational approach to micro- and macro-modelling of damage in brittle and quasi-brittle materials

Abstract

Computational modelling of damage in brittle and quasi-brittle materials needs some coupling between micro- and macroscopic crack initiation and evolution, up to their non-negligible softening behaviour. Most such ap-proaches contain ad hoc evaluations, with some physical and engineering motivations, namely those connected with massive application of steelfibre-reinforced concrete and similar composites in building projects, but without any propermathematical existence and convergence analysis for the time development of damage. This paper presents a possibility of such deterministic anal-ysis on a selected model problem of structural dynamics, supplied by comments to useful direc-tions of generalization. Several application examples document the feasibility of such approach, up to its software implementation and real data validation.Computational modelling of damage in brittle and quasi-brittle materials needs some coupling between micro- and macroscopic crack initiation and evolution, up to their non-negligible softening behaviour. Most such ap-proaches contain ad hoc evaluations, with some physical and engineering motivations, namely those connected with massive application of steelfibre-reinforced concrete and similar composites in building projects, but without any propermathematical existence and convergence analysis for the time development of damage. This paper presents a possibility of such deterministic anal-ysis on a selected model problem of structural dynamics, supplied by comments to useful direc-tions of generalization. Several application examples document the feasibility of such approach, up to its software implementation and real data validation.