A description of micro- and macroscale damage of concrete structures

Some particularities of the microstructure of concrete are first presented: they lead us to conclude that damage by microcracking is the main phenomenon in the mechanical behavior of the material. An isotropic elastic damage model is then proposed by using the coupling of two damage variables, Dt (tensile effects) and Dc (compressive effects). The model is built according to the framework of thermodynamics, and then we show that it is possible to describe the birth and growth of cracks, using a combination linear elastic damage mechanics and linear elastic fracture mechanics. Some results attest the interest in that kind of approach.