Experimental and numerical analysis of crack propagation in reinforced concrete structures using a three-phase concrete model

Abstract

A new multi-scale numerical method is proposed to simulate crack propagation in reinforced concrete structures. First of all, a three-phase composite material model is used to build the concrete structures at meso-level. And a modified Weibull distribution model is introduced to describe further the microscopic characteristics of concrete. Then different constitutive relations are adopted for components of concrete and reinforcing bars. Next, the numerical program written in ANSYS parametric design language and tool control language is executed to investigate the fracture behavior of reinforced concrete structures. The program, which can check the development of multiple cracks, is greatly improved by contrast with traditional methods. Finally, relevant experiments are conducted for comparing with the numerical results. The analysis results indicate that the program has strong robustness. Moreover, a good agreement is achieved between simulation results and experimental observation.