The effect of micro pore on the characteristics of crack tip plastic zone in concrete

Concrete is a heterogeneous material containing many weaknesses such as micro-cracks, pores and grain boundaries. The crack growth mechanism and failure behavior of concrete structures depend on the plastic deformation created by these weaknesses. In this article the non-linear finite element method is used to analyze the effect of presence of micro pore near a crack tip on both of the characteristics of crack tip plastic zone (its shape and size) and crack growth properties (such as crack growth length and crack initiation angle) under pure shear loading. The FE Code Franc2D/L is used to carry out these objectives. The effects of the crack-pore configurations and the spacing between micro pore and pre-excising crack tip on the characteristics of crack tip plastic zone and crack growth properties is highlighted. Based on the obtained results, the relative distance between the crack tip and the micro pore affects in very significant way the shape and the size of the crack tip plastic zone. Furthermore, crack growth length and crack initiation angle are mostly influenced by size and shape of plastic zone ahead of crack tip. Also the effects of pore decrease on the crack tip by variation of pore situation from linear to perpendicular configuration. The critical position for a micro pore is in front of the crack tip.