gle A rational approach to stress-dilatancy modelling using an explicit micromechanical formulation

The paper presents results of numerical simulations of the behaviour of quasi-brittle materials (like concrete) under plane strain conditions. Two boundary value problems with a dominating failure mode I were simulated: uniaxial tension and a three-point bending test for concrete beams with a different size. To model the material behaviour, two different continuum approaches were used: elasto-plastic and an isotropic damage constitutive model with non-local softening. Attention was focused of the effect of a characteristic length on the width of strain localization and load-displacement curve, and an identification of a characteristic length on the basis of the load-displacement curves only from size effect tests.