Progressive fracture analysis of concrete using finite elements with embedded displacement discontinuity

In this paper, a finite element with embedded displacement discontinuity which eliminates theneed for remeshing of elements in the discrete crack approach is applied for the progressive fractureanalysis of concrete structures. A finite element formulation is implemented with the extension of theprinciple of virtual work to a continuum which contains internal displacement discontinuity. By introducing adiscontinuous displacement shape function into the finite element formulation, the displacement discontinuityis obtained within an element. By applying either a nonlinear or an idealized linear softening curverepresenting the fracture process zone (FPZ) of concrete as a constitutive equation to the displacementdiscontinuity, progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures is performed. In this analysis, localizedprogressive fracture simultaneous with crack closure in concrete structures under mixed mode loading issimulated by adopting the unloading path in the softening curve. Several examples demonstrate thecapability of the analytical technique for the progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures.