Computational modeling of fracture in concrete using a meshfree meso-macro-multiscale method

The focus of this manuscript is on multiscale modeling of material failure of concrete. The concrete material far away from the fracture process zone is modeled by a macroscopic homogenized material model while a non-linear mesoscopic constitutive model is used in the fracture process zone. On the mesoscopic scale, the constituents of the composites material (concrete), i.e. the cement matrix and the aggregates, are modeled. Fracture occurs only in the cement matrix and is modeled by a cohesive zone model (CZM) in the context of an enriched partition of unity meshfree method. We also test the influence of the interface model between the cement and the aggregates. Numerical results demonstrate the importance of the interface model. The method is validated by comparison to experimental data for different failure modes. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.