Discrete crack analysis for concrete structures using the hybrid-type penalty method

The hybrid-type penalty method (HPM) is suitable for representing failure phenomena occurring during the transition from continua to discontinua in materials such as concrete. Initiation and propagation of dominant cracks and branching of cracks can easily be modeled as a discrete crack. The HPM represents a discrete crack by eliminating the penalty that represents the separation of the elements at the intersection boundary. This treatment is easy because no change in the degrees of freedom for the discrete crack is necessary. In addition, it is important to evaluate the correct deformation of the continua before the crack formation is initiated. To achieve this, we implemented a constitutive model of concrete for the HPM. In this paper, we explain the implemented constitutive model and describe the simulation of an anchor bolt pullout test using the HPM demonstrating its capability for evaluating progressive failure