The paper summarizes three recent advances in the modeling of inelastic behavior and fracturing of concrete, achieved at Northwestern University and Politecnico di Milano. First, improvements of microplane model M4 which allow a more realistic simulation of frictional shear and…
The paper summarizes three recent advances in the modeling of inelastic behavior and fracturing of concrete, achieved at Northwestern University and Politecnico di Milano. First, improvements of microplane model M4 which allow a more realistic simulation of frictional shear and of lateral strains in tensile fracturing are presented. Second, development of microplane model M5 which can capture the transition from distributed cracking damage to complete cohesive fracture is described and its novel concept—a combination of kinematic and static constraints— is discussed. Third, a new lattice type model for concrete, which can simulate (with the same material parameters) tensile fracturing, complete cohesive fracture, compression-shear behavior with softening at zero or mild confinement, and response at confined compression at which there is only hardening (i.e., no peal and no postpeak softening), is outlined.