Hydraulic fracture simulation of concrete using the SBFEM-FVM model

In this paper, a hybrid scaled boundary finite element and finite volume method (SBFEM-FVM) is proposed for simulating hydraulic-fracture propagation in brittle concrete materials. As a semi-analytical method, the scaled boundary finite element method is introduced for modelling concrete crack propagation under both an external force and water pressure. The finite volume method is employed to model the water within the crack and consider the relationship between the water pressure and the crack opening distance. The cohesive crack model is used to analyse the non-linear fracture process zone. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, indicating that the F-CMOD curves and water pressure changes under different loading conditions are approximately the same. Different types of water pressure distributions are also studied with the proposed coupled model, and the results show that the internal water pressure distribution has an important influence on crack propagation.