On a computational stress-based non-local damage model for quasi-brittle composites

Abstract

Numerical models for the stress and strain analysis of quasi-brittle composites, such as cement-based ones, supplied by various stiffening particles, under mechanical, thermal, etc. loads should handle i) the creation of certain micro-damaged zones, antecedent to ii) the initiation and propagation of a system of macroscopic cracks. Whereas ii) can be analysed using some extended, generalized or similar finite element technique (XFEM, GFEM, etc. algorithms), i) must rely on a smeared crack formulation, whose regularization properties are derived from a non-local stress evaluation. This paper studies mathematical and computational properties of such model, based on the Eringen's approach, useful in many applications in civil engineering.