Size-effect defines the relation between the nominal strength at the onset of fracture and structural size. More generally, size-effect is interested in the variation of the mechanical response of geometrically similar structures. In order to simulate the size-effect, one needs…
Size-effect defines the relation between the nominal strength at the onset of fracture and structural size. More generally, size-effect is interested in the variation of the mechanical response of geometrically similar structures. In order to simulate the size-effect, one needs to rely on numerical modeling to describe the formation, development and propagation of the fracture process zone. Al- though a number of models have been proposed over the years, a correct description of fracture and size-effect which accounts for boundary effects and varying structural geometry remains challenging. Inthisstudy, theLatticeDiscreteParticleModel(LDPM)isusedtoinvestigatetheeffectsofstructural dimensionandgeometryonthenominalstrengthandfracturingprocessinconcrete. LDPMsimulates concrete at the aggregate level and has shown superior capabilities in simulating complex cracking mechanisms, thanks to the inherent discrete nature of the model. To provide a solid validation of LDPM,oneofthemostcompleteexperimentaldatasetavailable in the literature was considered and includes three-point bending tests on notched and unnotched beams. The model parameters were first calibrated on a single size notched beam under three-point bending and on the mechanical response under unconfined compression. LDPM was then used to perform blind predictions. The results show a very good agreement with the experimental data.