Damage model for concrete reinforced with sliding metallic fibers

This contribution presents an effective and practical three dimensional (3D) numerical model to predict the behaviour of concrete matrix reinforced with sliding metallic fibers. Considering fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) as two-phase composite, constitutive behaviour laws of plain concrete and sliding metallic fibers were described first and then they were combined according to anisotropic damage theory to predict the mechanical behaviour of FRC. The behaviour law used for the plain concrete is based on damage and plasticity theories able to manage localized crack opening in 3D. The constitutive law of the action of sliding metallic fibers in the matrix is based on the effective stress carried by the fibers. This effective stress depends on a damage parameter related to on one hand, on the content and mechanical properties of fibers and on the other hand, on the fiber–matrix bond which itself depends on the localized crack opening. The proposed model for FRC is easy to implement in most of the finite element codes based on displacement formulation; it uses only measurable parameters like Young’s modulus, tensile and compressive strengths, fracture energies and strains at peak stress in tension and compression. A comparison between the experimental data and model results has been also provided in this paper.