A cohesive model for concrete mesostructure considering friction effect between cracks

Compressive ability is one of the most important mechanical properties of concrete material .The compressive failure process of concrete is pretty complex with internal tension, shear damage and friction between cracks. To simulate the complex fracture process of concrete at meso level, methodology for meso-structural analysis of concrete specimens is developed; the zero thickness cohesive elements are pre-inserted to simulate the crack initiation and propagation; the constitutive applied in cohesive element is established to describe the mechanism of crack separation, closure and friction behavior between the fracture surfaces. Aseries of simulations were carried out based on the model proposed in this paper. The results reproduced the main fracture and mechanical feature of concrete under compression condition. The effect of key material parameters, structure size, and aggregate content on the concrete fracture pattern and loading carrying capacities was investigated. It is found that the inner friction coefficient has a significant influence on the compression character of concrete, the compression strength raises linearly with the increase of the inner friction coefficient, and the fracture pattern is sensitive to the mesostructure of concrete.