No presente trabalho desenvolve-se um modelo constitutivo baseado na mecânica do dano contínuo para representar o acúmulo da degradação do concreto produzido por cargas repetidas. O modelo de dano apresenta as condições necessárias exigidas na chamada aproximação de descontinuidades fortes proposta por Simó, Oliver e Armero e, conseqüentemente, pode ser empregado na formulação de elementos finitos com descontinuidade forte incorporada. Em decorrência de sua capacidade de descrever o comportamento do meio descontínuo independentemente da posição dos contornos do elemento finito, essa classe de formulação constitui uma alternativa valiosa para remediar a forte dependência da malha observada nos modelos de fissuras distribuídas, assim como para evitar as sofisticadas técnicas de reconstrução da malha exigidas nos modelos de fissura discreta, nos quais a fissura é introduzida na interface entre elementos. O trabalho traz contribuições no sentido de proporcionar uma ferramenta alternativa para a análise de propagação de fissuras por fadiga em elementos estruturais de concreto, dentro do contexto da mecânica do dano contínuo. Verifica-se a eficiência da formulação mediante análise numérica de problemas de fadiga em elementos estruturais de concreto. / A constitutive model based on the continuum damage mechanics is proposed to describe the accumulation of the degradation produced by repeated loads in concrete materials. The proposed damage model presents the necessary conditions required in the strong discontinuity approach advocated by Simó, Oliver and Armero and, consequently, it can be used in the embedded strong discontinuity finite element approach. This class of approach has been recognized by its capability to model discontinuities independently on the element boundaries. In fracture mechanics, the embedded strong discontinuity element has been proved to be a efficient alternative to remedy the strong mesh dependence verified in smeared crack approaches, as well as to avoid the sophisticated remeshing techniques required in the discrete crack approaches, in which the crack is introduced in the element interfaces. This work provides an alternative tool for the analysis of crack propagation in concrete structures under fatigue in the context of the continuum damage mechanics. Numerical analysis of concrete elements under fatigue are performed to access the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Abstract not available

Currently, the maintenance and repair of civil engineering infrastructures (especially bridges and highways) have become increasingly important, as these structures age and deteriorate. Interface between two different mixes or strengths of concrete also appear in large concrete structures involving mass concreting such as dams, nuclear containment vessels, cooling towers etc., since joints between successive lifts are inevitable. These joints and interfaces are potential sites for crack formation, leading to weakening of mechanical strength and subsequent failure. In case of a bi-material interface, the stress singularities are oscillatory in nature and the fracture behavior of a concrete-concrete bi-material interface is much more complicated. A comprehensive experimental work has been undertaken for characterization of the behavior of different concrete-concrete interfaces under static and fatigue loading. The effect of specimen size on the concrete-concrete interfaces is studied and the non-linear fracture parameters such as fracture energy, mode I fracture toughness, critical crack tip opening displacement, critical crack length, length of process zone, brittleness number, size of process zone, crack growth resistance curve and tension softening diagram. These parameters are required for modeling the concrete-concrete interfaces in non-linear finite element analysis. Presently, the advanced non-destructive techniques namely acoustic emission, digital image correlation and micro-indentation have great capabilities to characterize the fracture behavior. The damage in plain concrete and concrete interface specimens is characterized both qualitatively and quantitatively using acoustic emission technique by measuring the width of fracture process zone and width of damage zones. The DIC technique is used to obtain the fracture parameters such as mode I and mode II fracture toughness and critical energy release rate. The micro-mechanical properties are obtained by performing depth-sensing micro-indentation tests on the concrete-concrete interfaces. Civil engineering structures such as long-span bridges, offshore structures, airport pavements and gravity dams are frequently subjected to variable-amplitude cyclic loadings in actual conditions. Hence, in order to understand the fracture behaviour under fatigue loading, the fatigue crack growth in plain concrete and concrete-concrete interface is also studied using the acoustic emission technique. An attempt is made to apply the Paris’ law, which is applicable to mechanical behaviour of metals, for acoustic emission count data. All these studies show that, as the difference in the compressive strength of concrete on either side of the interface increases, the load carrying capacity decreases and the fracture parameters indicate the increase in the brittleness of the specimens. It is concluded that the repair concrete should be selected in such a way that its elastic properties are as those of the parent concrete.

No presente trabalho desenvolve-se um modelo constitutivo baseado na mecânica do dano contínuo para representar o acúmulo da degradação do concreto produzido por cargas repetidas. O modelo de dano apresenta as condições necessárias exigidas na chamada aproximação de descontinuidades fortes proposta por Simó, Oliver e Armero e, conseqüentemente, pode ser empregado na formulação de elementos finitos com descontinuidade forte incorporada. Em decorrência de sua capacidade de descrever o comportamento do meio descontínuo independentemente da posição dos contornos do elemento finito, essa classe de formulação constitui uma alternativa valiosa para remediar a forte dependência da malha observada nos modelos de fissuras distribuídas, assim como para evitar as sofisticadas técnicas de reconstrução da malha exigidas nos modelos de fissura discreta, nos quais a fissura é introduzida na interface entre elementos. O trabalho traz contribuições no sentido de proporcionar uma ferramenta alternativa para a análise de propagação de fissuras por fadiga em elementos estruturais de concreto, dentro do contexto da mecânica do dano contínuo. Verifica-se a eficiência da formulação mediante análise numérica de problemas de fadiga em elementos estruturais de concreto. / A constitutive model based on the continuum damage mechanics is proposed to describe the accumulation of the degradation produced by repeated loads in concrete materials. The proposed damage model presents the necessary conditions required in the strong discontinuity approach advocated by Simó, Oliver and Armero and, consequently, it can be used in the embedded strong discontinuity finite element approach. This class of approach has been recognized by its capability to model discontinuities independently on the element boundaries. In fracture mechanics, the embedded strong discontinuity element has been proved to be a efficient alternative to remedy the strong mesh dependence verified in smeared crack approaches, as well as to avoid the sophisticated remeshing techniques required in the discrete crack approaches, in which the crack is introduced in the element interfaces. This work provides an alternative tool for the analysis of crack propagation in concrete structures under fatigue in the context of the continuum damage mechanics. Numerical analysis of concrete elements under fatigue are performed to access the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

This Master Thesis compares three various concrete materials for stiffening orthotropic bridge deck plate and investigates stress reducing factors in selected weld joints. The thesis investigates the standard load situation and also overloaded situation. A parameter study with different material inputs has been done to see how it affects stress in weld joints.

Ein zentraler Baustein zur Reduktion von CO2-Emissionen ist der Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien, insbesondere der Windenergie. Forschungsbedarf besteht dabei bei der ressourceneffizienten Herstellung der Turmstrukturen. Bei Nabenhöhen von über 100 Metern sind Hybridtürme aus vorgespannten Stahlbetonsegmenten die geeignetste Konstruktion. Hierfür ist jedoch eine genaue Kenntnis des Ermüdungsverhaltens von Beton erforderlich. In der Literatur existieren überwiegend Untersuchungen an kleinformatigen zylindrischen Probekörpern, deren Ergebnisse nur bedingt auf die großmaßstäblichen Bauteile übertragen werden können. Im Rahmen dieses Vorhabens wurden daher zum einen Großversuche mit zyklisch biegebeanspruchten, vorgespannten Betonbalken sowie Begleitversuche an zylindrischen Probekörpern und zum anderen numerische Simulationen der Balkenversuche durchgeführt. Das numerische Materialmodell wurde aufbauend auf einem additiven Dehnungsmodell im Finite-Elemente-Programm ANSYS Mechanical in einem iterativen Berechnungsablauf implementiert. Die Betondehnungen setzen sich hierbei aus vier Anteilen zusammen, einem elastischen, einem plastischen, einem viskosen und einem Temperaturdehnungsanteil. Somit konnte der kombinierte Einfluss der Anteile auf das Ermüdungsverhalten von Beton dargestellt werden. In den Großversuchen konnte bei den Balkenprobekörpern ein Ermüdungsversagen der Betondruckzone erzeugt werden, das sich an dieser Stelle durch Risse parallel zur Drucknormalspannung sowie teilweises Abplatzen der Betondruckzone, die der größten Spannungsschwingbreite ausgesetzt war, einstellte. Es zeigte sich, dass dies erst nach deutlich mehr Lastwechseln eintrat als bei den axial beanspruchten Betonzylindern in den zyklischen Begleitversuchen mit derselben Spannungsschwingbreite. Dies ist auf die Spannungsumlagerung zurückzuführen, die im Querschnitt aufgrund der ermüdungsbedingten Materialdegradation und Steifigkeitsverringerung der stark beanspruchten Randbereiche stattfand. In den Begleitversuchen wurden die Materialparameter für das numerische Modell ermittelt, mit dem im Anschluss die Balkenversuche nachgerechnet wurden. Es konnten die in den Versuchen beobachteten Effekte der Steifigkeitsdegradation und Spannungsumlagerung und die daraus resultierende Lebensdauerverlängerung nachgebildet werden. Das Modell kann somit für weitergehende Lebensdaueruntersuchungen von ermüdungsbeanspruchten Betonbauteilen verwendet werden.:ABSCHLUSSBERICHT 1 Allgemeine Angaben 2 Zusammenfassung / Summary 3 Wissenschaftlicher Arbeits- und Ergebnisbericht 4 Veröffentlichte Projektergebnisse