Engineering Fracture Mecixmics Vol. 25, Nos S/6. pp.

729-737,
Printed in Great Britain.

0013-7944186
53.00 + .CXl
Pergamvn Press Ltd.

1986

A DESCRIPTION
OF MICRO- AND ~ACROSCALE
DAMAGE OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES
JACKY MAZARS
Laboratoire de Mixanique et Technologie. Enset/Universite Paris 6/CNRS, 61, avenue du
President Wilson, 94230 Cachan, France
Abstract-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, D, (tensile effects) and D, (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.

1. INTRODUCTION
of the microstructure of concrete is one of the causes of the particularity of its
mechanical behavior. Concrete is a composite material composed by granulates in a brittle matrix:
the hydrated cement paste. Each of these elements has a well-defined role, one of bonding for the
cement paste and one of padding, mitigating the effects of volumetric variations (dilation and
shrinkage) for granulates.
From the mechanical point of view, there is an interaction between these two phases, and we are
going to show that the analysis of the local phenomena allows us to deduce realistic hypotheses for
the formulation of behavior models. Thus there are two steps in this study, a microscale analysis of
damage which leads to a macroscale description, and for that we will set the problems of failure and
fracture of concrete structures,
THE COMPLEXITY

2. MICROSCALE

DAMAGE

OF CONCRETE

2.1. Some details on the structure of concrete

Schematically three points may be pointed out in the structure:
- the cement matrix, a microporous material where the size of porous (from 10 to lo4 A) depends on
the cement-water ratio and decreases with aging;
- the grains: their principal characteristics are shape, hardness and porosity; for a classical concrete
they are stronger than the matrix and without porosity;
- the interface between matrix and grains; around the grains the crystallization of the hydrated
cement is different and the porosity is greater than anywhere else: this is the transition halo[ I],
The interface is also the zone where some defects can appear during the moulding of concrete and
also during the volumetric evolutions of the cement at the time of hydration (internal stresses,
microcracks . . .)_ The bigger the grains are, the more important the effects are.
These considerations lead to the conclusion that the more brittle part of concrete is around the
biggest grains.
2.2. Local evolutions under load
2.2.1. ~niaxiu~ case. From microm~hanical studies[Z, 31 we give here the principal results
obtained by the following hypotheses:
- the material is composed of cyhndric grains in an homogeneous matrix;
- matrix and grains are considered as linear elastic perfectly brittle in respect to the Griffith
energetic criterion;
- the interface zone is more brittle than the matrix and respects first an energetic criterion and
second a Coulomb criterion.
Results have been given by plane FEM calculations. From those we propose below (Fig. 1) a
scheme of the local phenomena in the uniaxial tensile and compressive case.
W125:5,6-0
729

J. MAZARS
fb)

(a)

Fig. I. Different phases of microscale damage in concrete. (a) @ ~ginning of damage: microcracks grow
around the grains in a mixed mode (I + II). Cp Instability and rupture: microcracks grow inside the matrix in
mode I and lead to the creation of macrocracks perpendicular to the direction of the load. (b) (B Begirning of
damage: microcracks appear in mode II. Q Stable increase of damage: microcracks grow around the grain
in mode I. @ Instability and rupture: microcracksgrow inside the matrix in a mixed mode (I + II) and lead to
the creation of macrocracks parallel to the direction of the load.

2.2.2. ~~dros~t~ case. This kind of compressive load affects the microporous structure of the
cement matrix. It leads to the collapse of the porous regions and then to the consolidation of the
material. There is first a decrease in the stiffness followed by an increase, when the number of contacts
inside the material is important; at the same time, the volume decreases.
2.2.3. General case: c~ass~cation. The uniaxial results have pointed out the presence in
microcrack growth of mode I. Experimental and other computational results[4] show that the
existence of mode I is linked to the existence of positive strains (extensions). When mode I exists the
behavior of the material shows an instability, the importance of which is in accordance with the
intensity of tensile stresses and then there is a dissymmet~ between the uniaxial tensile and
compressive behaviors. When the load does not allow extensions, mode I does not exist and the
friction between the lips of the microcracks which grow in modes II or III leads to a ductile behavior.
We suggest then[5] the classification given in Fig. 2 which links the type of loading, the local damage
mode and the type of behavior.
3. A CONTINUOUS
-

DAMAGE

MODEL

FOR CONCRETE

We propose here a model in the following context:

application domain: type A previously defined (extensions exist);

Partfcularity

Type

I
Extensions
A

LOCO~ damage

Behwor

mode

AU(MP.)

(6, -01

moy be powble
With

Mode I of I+n

Without

extension

loo~_~

Mode II tar III

Hydrostotac
C

instability

+$$

With

lmE2A,v

pressure
Consolidot

to

Fig. 2. Damage mode and behavior of concrete.

ductility

731

Micro- and macroscale damage of concrete

behavior: elasticity coupled with damage and respecting

compression;
type of damage: existence of a threshold and isotropy.

the dissymmetry

of traction-

3.1.
Damage mechanics
Introduced by Kachanov[6] and developed by Lemaitre[7],
notion with the concept of effective stress:

we used the damage variable

(5: effective stress tensor; tz: usual stress tensor; D: damage variable).
Then for an isotropic linear elastic virgin material, the behavior for a given state of damage is
described by
(A: fourth-order

0 = (1-D)A:s

tensor of elasticity).

D is a scalar whose value is in the domain [0,11; the damaged material then remains isotropic.
In the framework of thermodynamics e is an observable variable, D an internal variable and the

associated variables are respectively d and Y. If $ is the free energy, then

ati

==ae
and
Y =-=a*

aD

-f km.

By analogy with G in fracture mechanics (-Y) is called the damage strain energy release rate,
The use of the second principle leads to the Clausius-Duhem inequality:
-YB20

as (- Y) is a quadratic function

Lb0

B=

dDrate of damage

dt,

3.2. Damage threshold for concrete

We have seen before the importance of extensions in the damage of concrete. In previous
papers[8] we have suggested evaluating the local intensity of extensions, the equivalent strain notion:

E=

p:

&i= principal strain

C&i)

&i

if &i~ 0

(4)

if ei c 0.

The damage threshold is then defined by:

f(D) = E-K(D)

= 0

with K(0) = cDo(initial damage threshold).

3.3. Constitutive equations
In this context, and in order to respect Clausius-Duhem

inequality, we have shown in [5] that a

J. MAZARS

732

non-standard

model was necessary. The constitutive equations are then given by:
if f=O
if f= 0

and

f<O

and

,f = 0.

or

,f<O

where F(E) is a continuous positive function of E.

In the particular case of a proportional loading, the value of D for a maximal equivalent strain
reached &, is:
EM
F(t)di.

= F(&,) =

D&J

3.4. Combination of two kinds of damage

The dissymmetry between tensile and compressive behaviors is due to the fact that in the first
case microcracks are created directly by extensions which are in the same direction as stresses; in the
second case extensions are transmitted by the Poisson effect and then are perpendicular to the
direction of stresses; the phenomena then increase more slowly.
If in the uniaxial case we put

a combination

D, = Ft($

for traction

D, = F,(E)

for compression,

between D, and D, is necessary for the multiaxial case:

D = a,D,+a,D,.

Taking into account what we said above, a, and a, are, respectively, linked to the tensile and
compressive stresses.
3.5. Evolution laws
3.5.1. a, and a, parameters. We consider first a partition of the stress tensor:

a = (a)+ +(a>_
(4

(a> -

is built with the positive eigenvalues and

with the negative eigenvalues,

which leads to:

tra=

tr(a)++tr(a)_.

It is then possible to write the next partition of the strain tensor:

E =

&,SE

with
l+v
e, = $a)+

-itr(a),

EC= T(a)-

-itr(a)-.

From these considerations I have shown in [5] that a, and a, could take the following expressions:

Micro- and macroscale damage of concrete

733

with
Ei =

Hi=

&,i + &c-i

(principal strain)

if si 2 0

Hi = 0

and

if

si < 0.

These values respect the fact that tl, = 0 if d is only compressive and a, = 0 if d is only a tensile one.
3.5.2. Damage variables D, and D,. From experimental results we propose the next damage
evolutions laws:
D$)

= I-

D,(t) = l-

h,U -4)
i

-exp
Pt(~--D,)l

ED,(~-&)
4,
t
-exp [I?$-Ed,)]

where Q,, is the initial damage threshold and A,, B,, A, and B, are characteristic parameters of the
material.
The identifications are obtained with uniaxial compressive tests for A, and B, and flexion tests for
A, and B, because of the great instability of the direct tensile test; see [S] for details of this problem.
4. DAMAGE

AND FRACTURE

Many works have been interested in the study of cracking of concrete[9-111. They have shown
(Fig. 3) that:
- damage appears far ahead of the front of the macrocrack;
- the part of the macrocrack which appears on the surface is not significant with regard to the zone
of complete separation inside the thickness of the structure.
What then is the crack length value? This is.one of the great problems of the application of
fracture mechanics to concrete. Hillerborg[l2] has defined the fictitious crack from the tensile
behavior of the material. We have proposed in [5] an energetic equivalence between a damage zone
and a crack area, and we give the principle below.
4.1. Energetic equivalence
Let us consider the same structure with an initial crack of certain area and with a virgin
material everywhere else, in the next two cases.
l The material is linear elastic damageable; when the critical load is reached the local damage

Fig. 3. Section inside a concrete crack process zone. 0 Virgin zone. Q) Damage zone: some microcracks
appear. @ Crack-damage zone: the crack is visible on the surface but a part of the internal section is still
active. @ Crack zone: the fracture is complete.

J. MAZARS

734

increase is 6D and the dissipated energy in the whole structure is

(- Y) SD du.

D(6D) =

sV

l The material is linear elastic perfectly brittle; when the critical load is reached the crack area
increase is 6A and then the dissipated energy is
D(6A) = G, &A.

The energetic equivalence of both phenomena leads to

(-Y)6Ddu

6A=

G
C

which defines the increase of the crack equivalent to the damage increase SD. Then for a given state of
damage in a structure we can define the equivalent crack area. The consequence of such a
consideration is that, for a linear elastic material, an equivalent given state is characterized by the
same global stiffness and the same critical load of the two kinds of structures. Thus their global
behavior is the same.
4.2. How to use damage and ~acture equivalence.
This concept gives the possibility of combining linear elastic damage mechanics (LEDM) and
linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) to obtain:
- first, by LEDM, the beginning of a crack (place and extent of the damage zone) and the
corresponding global behavior;
- second, by the energetic concept, the equivalent crack area;
- third, by LEFM, the continuation of the global behavior.
Figure 4 summa~zes this process, the interest of which is, by using LEFM, to reduce eno~ously the
computation time[9,133.

5. SOME RESULTS
Two types of results are given here; one concerns the behavior of a volume element at the
macroscale, and the other the fracture of a concrete structure.
5.1. Damage and failure threshold

Figure 5 shows the comparison for the failure surface in the plane cr3 = 0 between the results
given by the model and the experiments. This surface corresponds to the maximum stress of the
behavior and the calculation is adjusted with the uniaxial compressive results.
We can note a good agreement in the tensile-tensile and tensile-compressive domains. In the
compressive-compressive zone, the results are not so good, in particular in the bisector region, where
the experimental results are also very different. We explain this point by the difficulty in realizing a
perfect plane stress loading state[Sj.
Figure 6 gives the evolution of the two model curves, damage and failure thresholds, when rr3 is a
compression. We find that, when this compression increases, failure occurs earlier in the tensile
domain and later in the compressive domain, which is also the result given by tests.
5.2. Behavior of a cracking structure
The structure used is a plate with an initial notch; Fig. 7(a) gives the sizes and the place where the
load is applied. When the load increases it creates, first, a damage zone at the top of the notch, and
then a macrocrack in the middle of the plate. Figure 7(b) shows the evolution of the damage zone
given by the model in a Iinite element calculation and the path of an experimental crack; the
superposition is good and other experimental results have confirmed that point. In Fig. 7(c) we can

Micro- and macroscale damage of concrete

735

L.E.EM.
calculation
( brittle moteriol )

L.E.DM.
calculation
t damageable material 1
D: local domage
Crack oreo Af.

Ld
P

4-Q

Eqwolent

crack -Ao

Fig. 4. Principle of using the combination of damage mechanics and fracture mechanics.

Model

bGachon

.:,.i

1.
-mm--

--~

Experiments

Fig. 5. Biaxial failure envelope. Comparison of model with experiments.

J. MAZARS

736

Fig. 6. Damage and failure thresholds

ib)

givenby the model in different plane (03 = constant)

Ycm
(Cl

20

(a)

Damage mechcmics Fracture mechamcs

I/ -

test
-*-*- talc

Fig. 7. Cracking

kN

I
01

Openfng

I
02

A,
I

of a concrete structure: comparison of test and calculation. (a) CT specimen. (b) Evaluation

of the damage zone and path of the crack. (c) Global behavior.

see the global behavior of the plate obtained by the damage m~hanics-fracture
mechanics
combination previously described. An experimental behavior confirms the interest of the
computation results. However, it must be noted that the maximum load is adjusted between the two
curves; we show in [14] that a forecast c~cu~ation is possible by using a probabilistic de~nition of the
initial damage threshold.

Micro- and macroscale damage of concrete

6. CONCLUSIONS

731

AND PROSPECTS

Damage by microcracking is the main phenomenon of the behavior of concrete; thus damage
mechanics is a good theory to describe it.
The model presented here is an isotropic one; the results given show that it is sufficient in many
cases. Research in progress on reinforced concrete structures confirms the interest of this kind of
model for the description of the steel-concrete connectionrl51.
_ _
The new research fields are now:
- the unilateral character of damage which is very important when the loading path includes a
change of the sign of the stresses[l6];
- anisotropic characterization of damage and the corresponding modelling[l7,18];
- the coupling of plasticity and damage to take into account the permanent
strain
evolutions[ 17,181.
REFERENCES
[l] B. D. Barnes, S. Diamond and W. L. Dolch, The contact zone between Portland cement past and glass aggregate
surfaces. Cem. Concr. Res. 8.233-244 (1978).
[2] M. Modeer, A fracture mechanics approach to failure analyses ofconcrete materials. Report TUBM 1001, University of
Lund, Sweden (1979).
[3] M. Lino, Etude dun modtle de btton par la methode des elements finis. T.F.E., E.N.P.C., L.C.P.C., Paris (1973).
[S] 0. Buyukozturk, A. H. Nilson and F. 0. Slate, Stress-strain response and fracture ofa concrete model in biaxial loading.
J. Am. Concr. Inst., pp. 590-599 (August 1971).
[5] J. Mazars, Application de la m&canique de lendommagement au comportement non lineaire et a la rupture du beton de
structure. These dEtat, Universitb Paris 6 (1984).
[6] L. M. Kachanov, Time of the rupture process under creep conditions. I--u. Akad. Nauk SSR Otd. Tech. Nauk 8,26-31
(1958).
[7] J. Lemaitre, Evaluation ofdissipation and damage in metals submitted to dynamic loading. Proc. I.C.M. 1, Kyoto, Japan
(1971).
[8] J. Mazars, Mechanical damage and fracture of concrete structure. Proc. I.C.F.5, Cannes, France, pp. 1499-1506 (198 1).
[9] D. Legendre, Prevision de la ruine des structures en beton par une approche combinte mecanique de lendommagementmCanique de la rupture. These de 38me Cycle, Universite Paris 6 (1984).
[lo] K. E. Loland, Mathematical modelling ofdeformational and fracture properties ofconcrete based on damage mechanical
principles. Report B.M.L., pp. 81-101. University of Trondheim, Norway (1981).
[l l] S. Chhuy, J. Baron and D. Francois, Mtcanique de la rupture appliquee au beton hydraulique. Cem. Concr. Res. 9,64 l648 (1979).
[12] A. Hillerborg, A model for fracture analysis. Report TUBM 3005 University of Lund, Sweden (1978).
[13] D. Legendre and J. Mazars, Damage and fracture mechanics for concrete-a combined approach. Proc. I.C.F.6, New
Delhi, India, pp. 2841-2848 (1984).
[14] J. Mazars and J. Lemaitre, Application of continuous damage mechanics to strain and fracture behavior of concrete.
Proc. NATO Workshop Application of Fracture Mechanics of Cementitious Composite, Evanston, U.S.A. Nijhoff (1985).
[ 151 J. L. Clement, J. Mazars and A. Zaborski, A damage model for concrete reinforcement bond in composite concrete
structures. Proc. EUROMECH Colloquium 204, Warsaw, Poland (1985).
[ 161 J. Mazars, A model of a unilateral elastic damageable material and its application to concrete. Proc. Int. Cot~f: on
Fracture Mechanics of Concrete, Lausanne, Switzerland (1985).
[17] F. Collombet, Modelisation de Iendommagement anisotrope-application
au comportement du b&ton sous
compression triaxiale. These de 3eme Cycle, Universite Paris 6 (1985).
[18] G. Pijaudier-Cabot, Caracttrisation et modirlisation du comportement du btton par un essai multiaxial automatique.
These de 36me Cycle, Universitt Paris 6 (1985).