Influence of crack reclosure on concrete permeability

•A damage model based on standard and non-standard plasticity is described.•The permeability tensor of cracked brittle materials is computed anisotropically.•A reversed Rankine criterion is used to manage the crack reclosure processing.•The permeability can decrease as the crack reclose.•The flow ra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics 2019-04, Vol.100, p.65-77
Main Authors:	Rahal, S., Sellier, A.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Anisotropy Civil Engineering Computer simulation Construction durable Construction hydraulique Crack initiation Crack opening Crack reclosure Cracking (fracturing) Damage localization Dilatancy Engineering Sciences FEM Flow simulation Flow velocity Fracture mechanics Génie civil nucléaire Macroscopic models Mechanics Mechanics of materials Microcracks Permeability Tensors
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Summary:	•A damage model based on standard and non-standard plasticity is described.•The permeability tensor of cracked brittle materials is computed anisotropically.•A reversed Rankine criterion is used to manage the crack reclosure processing.•The permeability can decrease as the crack reclose.•The flow rate is computed through a concrete sample loaded and then unloaded.•Permeability can be modelled accurately thanks to the crack reclosure processing. A macroscopic model intended to predict the change of permeability with respect to cracking is described. This development allows both diffuse and localized damage to be considered when computing the permeability. In compression, diffuse microcracking is initiated with respect to the material dilatancy. In this stage, the model adopts Poiseuille’s law and uses the transverse expansions obtained with a non-associated Drucker-Prager yield function to compute the anisotropic permeability components. In tension, Poiseuille’s law is also used to compute the flow rate through the localized crack. The permeability model uses the orthotropic crack opening information obtained by the mechanical model to compute the anisotropic permeability tensor. In addition, a reversed Rankine criterion is used to manage the localized crack reclosure processing and allows the principal crack opening and its associated permeability components to decrease. Finally, the model is used to simulate the flow rate through a real concrete specimen that has been subjected to tensile loading and then unloaded. With this application, the contribution of the crack reclosure processing to the permeability variations can be highlighted and utility of modelling crack reclosure accurately is demonstrated.
ISSN:	0167-8442 1872-7638