Compaction and tensile damage in concrete: constitutive modelling and application to dynamics Original Research Article

The objective of this study is to develop a model for concrete with an emphasis on tension and compaction. Compaction of concrete is physically a collapse of the material voids. It produces plastic strains in the material and, at the same time, an increase of the bulk modulus. The model is based on mechanics of porous materials, damage and plasticity. The computational implementation has been carried out in the Lagrangian finite element code DYNA3D. In order to show the influence of compaction, simulations of a split Hopkinson test performed on confined concrete and on a concrete rod submitted to an impact have been carried out. The examples demonstrate the importance of compaction during an impact, which has a tendency of strengthening the concrete structure.