Fracture Modelling of Granular Materials

Abstract

AbstractA lattice type model is used for simulating fracture processes in concrete and sandstone. Two type of lattices were adopted: a regular triangular lattice and a random lattice. With both lattices the fracture process in four point shear specimens can be simulated. The results are in good agreement with experimental observations. With the regular lattice, where disorder is implemented via a generated grain structure, the typical failure mechanism for granular materials, crack face bridging, is retrieved. With the random lattice, these details cannot be simulated, but the macroscopic crack pattern is obtained correctly with an enormous decrease in the number of elements.