Publications Details
A continuum damage model for the quasi-static response of brittle materials
An isotropic continuum damage theory which accounts for the degradation of material strength under quasi-static loading conditions has been developed in the present investigation. The damage mechanism in this theory has been selected to be the interaction and growth of subscale cracks. The development of the theory follows closely the strain-rate dependent dynamic model advanced by the first author and his coworkers. Briefly, the cracks are activated by the maximum principal tensile strain and the density of activated cracks is described by a Weibull statistical distribution. The moduli of a cracked solid derived by Budiansky and O'Connell are then used to represent the global material degradation due to subscale cracking. Two additional material constants have been introduced in this model. These constants are determined from uniaxial tensile test data. The model has been implemented into a finite element code. Sample calculations involving the uniaxial and biaxial responses of plain concrete panels are presented to demonstrate the utility of the model. 7 refs., 2 figs.