Abstract
Abstract : An extensive study of the micromechanics aspects and size effects associated with strain softening damage due to distributed cracking in brittle heterogeneous materials such as concrete, rocks and ceramics has been carried out and presented in a sequence of publications. The results may be grouped in five categories: (1) Size Effects, (2) Micromechanics Aspects, (3) Nonlocal Continuum Models, (4) Localization Instabilities, (5) Thermodynamic Analysis of Stable Path, and (6) Numerical Implementation of Localization Limiters. The law governing the size effect due to localization of strain softening into a finite size fracture process zone has been formulated, experimentally verified and calibrated. Knowledge of the size effect law has led to a method of determining nonlinear fracture properties on the basis of maximum loads of geometrically similar specimens of different sizes. The concept of a brittleness number characterizing the proximity of response of any structure to linear elastic fracture mechanics has been developed. Extensive experiments have been conducted on concrete, rock and ceramics. (JES)
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