Analysis of 3D crack propagation due to steel corrosion using damage model

Abstract

This paper presents a computational modeling of concrete cracking due to steel-corrosion using a damage model. The damage model, which is based on fracture mechanics for concrete, is applied to the constitutive law of concrete with cracking. The constitutive relation of concrete adjacent to reinforcements is modified to simulate the crack propagation behavior due to steel expansion using the damage model. Several numerical examples in 2D and 3D are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed model. First, the performance of the modified damage model is verified in 2D in comparison with the isotropic model. Second, the 3D crack behavior provided by the proposed model is compared with that obtained experimentally. Finally, the applicability is verified to a detailed 3D simulation with tetrahedral finite elements.