Modeling microcapsule-enabled self-healing cementitious composite materials using discrete element method

Concrete with a micro-encapsulated healing agent is appealing due to its self-healing capacity. The discrete element method (DEM) is emerging as an increasingly used approach for investigating the damage phenomenon of materials at the microscale. It provides a promising way to study the microcapsule-enabled self-healing concrete. Based on the experimental observation and DEM, a three-dimensional damage-healing numerical model of microcapsule-enabled self-healing cementitious materials under compressive loading is proposed. The local healing effect can be simulated in our model, as well as the stress concentration effect and the partial healing effect. The healing variable of the DEM model is developed to describe the healing process. We examine the dependence of the mechanical properties of the microcapsule-enabled self-healing material on (a) the stiffness of the solidified healing agent, (b) the strength of the solidified healing agent, (c) the initial damage of specimens, and (d) the partial healing effect. In particular, the proposed numerical damage-healing model demonstrates the potential capability to explain and simulate the physical behavior of microcapsule-enabled self-healing materials on the microscale.