Extension of FCM to plain concrete beams with vertical tortuous cracks

Fictitious crack model has been appropriately modified to make it applicable for plain concrete beams with vertical tortuous cracks. A number of tortuous cracks are generated considering the crack deviations as random variable based on the maximum aggregate size. Instead of a straight-line crack in FCM a number of simulated tortuous cracks are replaced to model the roughness of fracture surface of concrete. Plain concrete beams with such tortuous cracks are analyzed to study the effect of the tortuousity of the cracks on the various fracture parameters.