Experimental-Numerical Characterization of Ordinary Concrete at the Meso-Scale
Modeling the post-peak behaviour of brittle materials like concrete is still a challenge from the point of view of computational mechanics, due to the strong nonlinearities arising in the material behaviour during softening and the complexity of the yield criterion that may describe their deformation capacity in generic triaxial stress states. A numerical model for plain concrete in compression is formulated within the framework of the coupled elasto-plastic-damage theory. The aim is to simulate via the Finite Element (FE) method the stress-strain behaviour of concrete at the meso-scale, where local confinement effects generally characterize the cement paste under the action of the surrounding aggregates. The mechanical characterization of the components are accomplished through a specific experimental campaign. With the subsequent validation study, it is shown that a few calibration parameters give a good prediction of load strength and deformation capacity coming from real uniaxial compression tests.