• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.04a
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• pp.217-222
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• 1999

Usually, the failure of quasi-brittle materials is numerically difficult to describe because of the localization process with softening behavior. In this study, ADLE(Axial Deformation Link Elements) with stochastic material properties are developed to simulate the quasi-brittle material failure behavior. The ADLE method is adopted both Fictitious Crack Model and stochastic method to implement the fracture behavior with the localization behavior of quasi-brittle materials. The main objective of this paper is to show the mash independency and the capability of ADLE for the failure behavior of a quasi-brittle materials.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.735-758
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• 2015

This work deals with unilateral effect of quasi-brittle materials, such as concrete. For this propose, a two-dimensional meso-scale model is presented. The material is considered as a three-phase material consisting of interface zone, matrix and inclusions - each constituent modeled by an appropriate constitutive model. The Representative Volume Element (RVE) consists of inclusions idealized as circular shapes randomly placed into the specimen. The interface zone is modeled by means of cohesive contact finite elements developed here in order to capture the effects of phase debonding and interface crack closure/opening. As an initial approximation, the inclusion is modeled as linear elastic as well as the matrix. Our main goal here is to show a computational homogenization-based approach as an alternative to complex macroscopic constitutive models for the mechanical behavior of the quasi-brittle materials using a finite element procedure within a purely kinematical multi-scale framework. A set of numerical examples, involving the microcracking processes, is provided. It illustrates the performance of the proposed model. In summary, the proposed homogenization-based model is found to be a suitable tool for the identification of macroscopic mechanical behavior of quasi-brittle materials dealing with unilateral effect.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.713-730
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• 2003

This paper contains the results of the study on the development of fracture and crack propagation in quasi-brittle materials, such as concrete or rocks, using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). A new discrete element numerical model is proposed as the basis for analyzing the inelastic evolution and growth of cracks up to the point of gross material failure. The model is expected to predict the fracture behavior for the quasi-brittle material structure using the elementary aggregate level, the interaction between aggregate materials, and bond cementation. The algorithms generate normal and shear forces between two interfacing blocks and contains two kinds of contact logic, one for connected blocks and the other one for blocks that are not directly connected. The Mohr-Coulomb theory has been used for the fracture limit. In this algorithm the particles are moving based on the connected block logic until the forces increase up to the fracture limit. After passing the limit, the particles are governed by the discrete block logic. In setting up a discrete polygon element model, two dimensional polygons are used to investigate the response of an assembly of different shapes, sizes, and orientations with blocks subjected to simple applied loads. Several examples involving assemblies of particles are presented to show the behavior of the fracture and the failure process.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.433-455
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• 2004

The paper presents results of FE-calculations on shear localizations in quasi-brittle materials during both an uniaxial plane strain compression and uniaxial plane strain extension. An elasto-plastic model with a linear Drucker-Prager type criterion using isotropic hardening and softening and non-associated flow rule was used. A non-local extension was applied in a softening regime to capture realistically shear localization and to obtain a well-posed boundary value problem. A characteristic length was incorporated via a weighting function. Attention was focused on the effect of mesh size, mesh alignment, non-local parameter and imperfections on the thickness and inclination of shear localization. Different methods to calculate plastic strain rates were carefully discussed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.221-240
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• 2017

The modeling of the mechanical behavior of quasi-brittle materials is still a challenge task, mainly in failure processes when fracture and plasticity phenomena become important actors in dissipative processes which occur in materials like concrete, as instance. Many homogenization-based approaches have been proposed to deal with heterogeneous materials in the last years. In this context, a computational homogenization modeling for concrete is presented in this work using the concept of Representative Volume Element (RVE). The material is considered as a three-phase material consisting of interface zone (ITZ), matrix and inclusions-each constituent modeled by an independent constitutive model. The Representative Volume Element (RVE) consists of inclusions idealized as circular shapes symmetrically and nonsymmetrically placed into the specimen. The interface zone is modeled by means of cohesive contact finite elements. The inclusion is modeled as linear elastic and matrix region is considered as elastoplastic material. A set of examples is presented in order to show the potentialities and limitations of the proposed modeling. The consideration of the fracture processes in the ITZ is fundamental to capture complex macroscopic characteristics of the material using simple constitutive models at mesoscopic level.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.519-524
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• 2021

The impact properties of two austenitic Fe-23Mn-0.4C steels with different Al contents for cryogenic applications are investigated in this study. The 4Al steel consists mostly of austenite single-phase microstructure, while the 5Al steel exhibits a two-phase microstructure of austenite and delta-ferrite with coarse and elongated grains. Charpy impact test results reveal that the 5Al steel with duplex phases of austenite and delta-ferrite exhibits a ductile-to-brittle transition behavior, while the 4Al steel with only single-phase austenite has higher absorbed energy over 100 J at -196 ℃. The SEM fractographs of Charpy impact specimens show that the 4Al steel has a ductile dimple fracture regardless of test temperature, whereas the 5Al steel fractured at -100 ℃ and -196 ℃ exhibits a mixed fracture mode of both ductile and brittle fractures. Additionally, quasi-cleavage fracture caused by crack propagation of delta-ferrite phase is found in some regions of the brittle fracture surface of the 5Al steel. Based on these results, the delta-ferrite phase hardly has a significant effect on absorbed energy at room-temperature, but it significantly deteriorates low-temperature toughness by acting as the main site of the propagation of brittle cracks at cryogenic-temperatures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-50
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• 2012

The 2D representative volume element (RVE) for softening quasi-brittle materials like concrete is determined. Two alternative methods are presented to determine a size of RVE in concrete subjected to uniaxial tension by taking into account strain localization. Concrete is described as a heterogeneous three-phase material composed of aggregate, cement matrix and bond. The plane strain FE calculations of strain localization at meso-scale are carried out with an isotropic damage model with non-local softening.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.293-310
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• 2012

This paper discusses a new constitutive model called the high-rate brittle microplane (HRBM) model and also presents the details of a new software package called the Virtual Materials Laboratory (VML). The VML software package was developed to address the challenges of fitting complex material models such as the HRBM model to material property test data and to study the behavior of those models under a wide variety of stress- and strain-paths. VML employs Continuous Evolutionary Algorithms (CEA) in conjunction with gradient search methods to create automatic fitting algorithms to determine constitutive model parameters. The VML code is used to fit the new HRBM model to a well-characterized conventional strength concrete called WES5000. Finally, the ability of the new HRBM model to provide high-fidelity simulations of material property experiments is demonstrated by comparing HRBM simulations to laboratory material property data.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.177-190
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• 2008

Material failure behavior is generally dependent on loading rate. Especially in brittle and quasi-brittle materials, rate dependent material behavior can be significant. Empirical formulations are often used to predict the rate dependency, but such methods depend on extensive experimental works and are limited by practical constraints of physical testing. Numerical simulation can be an effective means for extracting knowledge about rate dependent behavior and for complementing the results obtained by testing. In this paper, the failure behavior of a brittle material under different loading rates is simulated by molecular dynamics analysis. A notched specimen is modeled by sub-million particles with a normalization scheme. Lennard-Jones potential is used to describe the interparticle force. Numerical simulations are performed with six different loading rates in a direct tensile test, where the loading velocity is normalized to the ratio of the pseudo-sonic speed. As a consequence, dynamic features are achieved from the numerical experiments. Remarkable failure characteristics, such as crack surface interaction/crack arrest, branching, and void nucleation, vary in case of the six loading cases. These characteristics are interpreted by the energy concept approach. This study provides insight into the change in dynamic failure mechanism under different loading rates.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2012

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) represent a class of non-brittle refractory materials for harsh and extreme environments in aerospace and other applications. The quasi-ductility of these structural materials depends on the quality of the interface between the matrix and the fiber surface. In this study, a manufacture route is described where in contrast to most other processes no additional fiber coating is used to adjust the fiber/matrix interfaces in order to obtain damage tolerance and fracture toughness. Adapted microstructures of uncoated carbon fiber preforms were developed to permit the rapid infiltration of molten alloys and the subsequent reaction with the carbon matrix. Furthermore, any direct reaction between the melt and fibers was minimized. Using pure silicon as the reactive melt, C/SiC composites were manufactured with an aim of employing the resulting composite for friction applications. This paper describes the formation of the microstructure inside the C/C preform and resulting C/C-SiC composite, in addition to the MAX phases.