In the present paper the microplane model for concrete like materials is discussed. In the model the material is characterized by a relation between the stress and strain components on planes of various ori- entations. To realistically model quasi-brittle materials…
In the present paper the microplane model for concrete like materials is discussed. In the model the material is characterized by a relation between the stress and strain components on planes of various ori- entations. To realistically model quasi-brittle materials under compressive load, for each microplane the total strain tensor has to be decomposed into the normal (volumetric and deviatoric) and shear strain components. It is shown that for dominant tensile load the decomposition of the normal microplane strain together with the fact that the tensile strength is for an order of magnitude smaller than it's compressive strength leads to unre- alistic model response. To keep the conceptual simplicity, the model is improved in the framework of the ldnematic microplane theory, however, the ldnematic constraint is relaxed. It is demonstrated that the im- proved model is able to realistically simulate complex fracture mechanisms of materials with and without ini- tial anisotropy.