A Damage Model of Concrete including Hysteretic Effect under Cyclic Loading

A novel damage model for concrete has been developed, which can reflect the complex hysteresis phenomena of concrete under cyclic loading, as well as other nonlinear behaviors such as stress softening, stiffness degradation, and irreversible deformation. The model cleverly transforms the complex multiaxial stress state into a uniaxial state by equivalent strain, with few computational parameters and simple mathematical expression. The uniaxial tensile and compressive stress-strain curves matching the actual characteristics are used to accommodate the high asymmetry of concrete in tension and compression, respectively. Meanwhile, an unloading path and a reloading path that can reflect the hysteresis effect under cyclic loading of concrete are established, in which the adopted expressions for the loading and unloading characteristic points do not depend on the shape of the curve. The proposed model has a concise form that can be easily implemented and also shows strong generality and flexibility. Finally, the reliability and correctness of the model are verified by comparing the numerical results with the three-point bending beam test, cyclic loading test, and a seismic damage simulation of the Koyna gravity dam.

Automated summary

A novel damage model for concrete has been developed, which can accurately reflect the complex hysteresis phenomena and nonlinear behaviors of concrete under cyclic loading. The model transforms the complex stress state into a uniaxial state using equivalent strain, with simple mathematical expression and few computational parameters. Meanwhile, unloading and reloading paths that can reflect the hysteresis effect are established. The proposed model is concise, easy to implement, and shows strong generality.