A tensorial energy-release-rate based anisotropic damage-plasticity model for concrete

Abstract

This paper proposes an anisotropic damage model for concrete to capture its plasticity and damage behavior effectively. Utilizing the framework of continuum damage mechanics, the model considers the influence of plastic Helmholtz free energy on damage evolution. This approach explicitly deduces damage-related thermodynamic forces without resorting to assumptions such as strain equivalence or energy equivalence. The proposed model employs tensile and compressive damage tensors to describe the development of anisotropic damage in concrete. The solution for plastic strain utilizes the empirical plasticity model. Furthermore, a unified evolutionary criterion for isotropic and anisotropic damage is also established, incorporating damage yield functions and orthogonal flow laws. Numerical simulations are conducted to validate the model’s ability to reproduce typical nonlinear behaviors of concrete structures under various load conditions.