Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc

Computational model of mesoscopic structure of concrete

for simulation of fracture processes
J.P.B. Leite a, V. Slowik b,*
, J. Apel c

a
Department of Architecture and Building Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
b
Civil Engineering Department, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, PF 301166, 04251 Leipzig, Germany
c
Computing Center, Academy of Visual Arts, Wächterstraße 11, 04107 Leipzig, Germany

Received 12 November 2004; accepted 14 August 2006

Available online 4 January 2007

Abstract

This paper describes mathematical modelling and computational tool for simulation of fracture processes of cementitious composites
at the mesoscopic level. The tool relies on highly realistic 3D- and 2D-representations of the heterogeneous internal structure of concrete
for understanding the micromechanics of aggregate–matrix interactions. The generation mechanism allows control of aggregate volume
content, shape and size distribution. The allocation procedure proved capable to produce numerical concrete with aggregate distributions
comparable to real concrete. The continuum was discretised into lattices of linear elements, for structural analyses. Compression, direct
tension and wedge-splitting tests were simulated. Parametrical study was carried out to investigate effects of different material properties
and proportions in concrete admixtures.
 2006 Civil-Comp Ltd. and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Material optimization; Cementitious composite; Mesolevel model; Fracture simulation; Micromechanics of concrete; Aggregate–matrix
interaction

1. Introduction
Recent advances in cementitious composite materials
are particularly related with the mesolevel structure of
these materials. Performance enhancements have been
obtained by tailoring the material composition in terms
of components geometry and contents, as well as by
improvements on interface bonding between matrix and
aggregate or fibre [1,2]. Experimental analyses can, in some
cases, be used for qualitatively evaluating effects of compo-
nent properties but hardly can allow quantitative optimiza-
tion of the composite admixture. On the other hand,
phenomenological models used to describe the mechanical
behaviour of concrete assume the material to be homoge-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 341 3076 6261; fax: +49 341 3076
7045.
E-mail address: slowik@fbb.htwk-leipzig.de (V. Slowik).
neous, and therefore cannot be used for any type of mate-
rial optimisation.
Comparably large differences of scale in the systems of
concrete’s internal structure do not allow the modelling of
such systems as one. Hence, different models may be charac-
terised by resolution ranges, which are usually determined
by desired levels of detail and available computational
power. As general classification, mechanical models for con-
crete may be distinguished into three levels attempting to
conform the scale to desired degrees of detailing of the mate-
rial’s structure. At a macroscopic level, the material is con-
sidered as homogeneous. Corresponding models take no
regard on the material composition. At the microscopic
level, the porous structure of the cement paste is modelled.
At the intermediary level, the mesoscopic level, the concrete
is regarded as a two-phase material, either as small aggre-
gates surrounded by the hardened cement paste or as coarse
aggregate particles dispersed in a matrix of mortar. Meso-
level models have proved to be suitable for describing at a

0045-7949/$ - see front matter  2006 Civil-Comp Ltd. and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2006.08.086
1294 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
good extent the complex fracture behaviour of the concrete,
as well as for investigating the influence of the concrete
composition on the macroscopic properties [3–6]. However,
resolution range and applicability of proposed mesolevel
models may vary considerably from one to another.
Mechanical mesolevel models of concrete may suffer
from limitations in producing realistic depictions of the
highly heterogeneous internal structure of the concrete.
The depicted concrete structure used in computational
models, referred to as ‘‘numerical concrete’’, in some cases
insufficiently resembles the real concrete material. Thus the
results of stress analysis methods may be highly questioned
due to the inability of fictitious concrete structures to cap-
ture the physical reality. While crude depictions have been
capable of reproducing macro behavioural features, they
are unlikely to describe the effects of different material
properties of the concrete components, as well as effects
of different admixtures, on the deformation and fracture
behaviour.
A computational tool designed for simulation of frac-
ture processes of concrete is presented in the following sec-
tions. The concepts for mathematical modelling and
computational implementation are described. In the devel-
opment of the model and in the present paper, special
attention has been given to a realistic representation of
the heterogeneous aggregate–matrix structure in 2D and
3D. With the generation algorithm described here aggre-
gate contents as high as in the real concrete may be
obtained. In this respect, the proposed model is more real-
istic than others proposed in the literature [5,6].
Simulations of concrete fracture under different loading
cases were carried out and some results are presented. The
purpose of such simulations was to identify the influence of
different mechanical and geometrical properties of the com-
ponent materials onto the overall behaviour of the compos-
ite material.
In the present paper, which is mainly focussing on the
generation algorithm for the concrete meso-structure only
few numerical results are presented. More results of analy-
ses performed with the proposed model are reported in
another paper which addresses the material science aspects
of the model more in detail [7].
2. Generation of mesoscopic concrete
Mesolevel models require the generation of an aggre-
gate-mortar structure in a realistic way. Their generation
mechanisms are often designed to conform to the two- or
three-dimensional structural idealisation that is intended
for analyses. On the other hand, the structural idealization
is sometimes restricted by the limited capability of the gen-
eration mechanism. Most generation mechanisms currently
in use are only suitable for two-dimensional structural ide-
alisations and are in general very restricted in terms the
aggregate shape. The generation mechanism proposed here
should fulfil the following requirements:
(a) The location of the aggregate particles should be ran-
domly selected.
(b) Shape and size of the particles should be randomly
selected within given limits.
(c) The spatial aggregate distribution should be relatively
uniform.
(d) Given size distribution and aggregates content should
be exactly matched.
(e) The maximum aggregate content should be as high as
in the real concrete.
The first requirement implies in the usage of random
number generators. In fact, the most trivial way of placing
aggregate particles in the test volume or test area is to
obtain the location purely randomly. When a particle is
placed partially outside of the test volume or overlapping
previously allocated particles, the trial location is dismissed
and a new one is attempted. Although the simplicity of
such a scheme is fairly attractive, the efficiency is very poor.
Practical computer random functions are in general linear
congruential generators and therefore not free of sequential
correlation on successive calls. In the particular case of
three-dimensional spaces, the total number of planes in
which triples of points could lie may be as low as the cube
root of 32 768, or 32 and unlikely to be larger than the cube
root of 232, about 1600. This extremely pronounced dis-
creteness of the planes prevents the exploration of small
fractions of the volume. Therefore, such mechanisms are
only capable to achieve comparably low aggregate con-
tents, and the approach is extremely redundant and time-
consuming. In addition, the resulting mesolevel structure
is a very coarse idealisation, which in general does not
resemble the real concrete.
Vervuurt [8] proposed an improved mechanism, which
simulates a process in which circular particles are dropped
into a mould. The horizontal position for a particle is ran-
domly selected along the mould length. Thereafter the par-
ticle is moved downwards until a specified minimum
distance to particles previously placed is reached. In order
to attain more dense structures, this procedure may be
attempted several times for a same particle, at different hor-
izontal positions, selecting the deepest position from all
attempts. The resulting structure may not be very uniform
due to the formation of holes under the large aggregate
particles. Another disadvantage of this more effective algo-
rithm is that the aggregate content cannot be exactly prede-
termined. An alternative possibility of generating an
aggregate-mortar structure is to discretise the test volume
or the test area, similar to a finite element meshing. Then,
the obtained volume or area sections are shrunk by a cer-
tain factor forming the particles, Stankowski [9]. In this
way aggregate contents up to 100% can be achieved. How-
ever, the obtained mesolevel structure is very different from
those in real concrete samples.
Although the mechanism presented here generates
always a three-dimensional concrete model, it is equally
suitable for both two- and three-dimensional structural
 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
idealisations. Two-dimensional concrete models are easily
obtained by slicing the three-dimensional model. The
aggregate particles are designed as ellipsoids and by con-
trolling the ratio between their three middle-axes a variety
of shapes may be obtained. The stochastic-heuristic algo-
rithm for allocating the aggregates, which has been embod-
ied in the generation mechanism, allows for aggregate
contents compared to the ones in real concrete and also
for equivalent spatial distributions, see Fig. 1. In addition,
the generation mechanism successfully meets all other
requirements outlined above.
Note that the algorithm for allocation of particles per-
forms some local heuristic search in the neighbourhood of
the initial random position, using rotation and translation
moves. In order to attain more uniform size distribution,
the shifts (translation moves) are performed in stepwise
manner along heuristically determined directions, with step
values proportional to the ellipsoid axes and step sizes con-
trolled according to the aggregate scattering (low or high
aggregate content). Rotations are simulated by random
changes in the Eulerian angles. In the real process of con-
crete placing and compacting, the smaller particles are some-
how adjusted by the settlement of the larger particles. The
proposed mechanism simulates smaller particles hitting oth-
ers and bouncing back until they have reached their final
position. This yields a more realistic structure than a purely
random procedure. In addition, the shifts allow the alloca-
tion of the ellipsoid centres in any position of the three-
dimensional space instead of in a limited number of planes.
The consideration of fibre reinforcement was also imple-
mented. However, since the fibres are allocated directly
into the mesh, after the concrete structure is generated, dif-
ferent approaches to allocate fibres in 2D and 3D, see
Fig. 1, are used.
2.1. Generation of aggregate particles
In the proposed generation mechanism, the aggregate
particles are idealised as ellipsoids. Depending on the mate-
Fig. 1. 3D-model specimens of plain concrete (left frame) and fibre reinforced concrete (right frame).
1295
rial, which they are intended to model, the ellipsoids may
have to differ in size and roundness.
An ellipsoid is uniquely defined in the three-dimensional
space by specifying the lengths of its middle-axes, the coor-
dinates of its centre point and the directions of its axes. The
size can be limited by giving the mesh length of two qua-
dratic sieves, where the ellipsoid should be able to pass
through the first but not through the second sieve. The
specified aggregate volume for each sieve determines the
size distribution. The exact volumes for all sieves are
attained by adjusting the size of the last particles of each
sieve. Different shapes may be obtained according to the
prescribed roundness. By roundness of an ellipsoid, it is
intended to express how much the shape differs from that
of a sphere. The roundness is prescribed by specifying a
value or range for the ratio between the shortest and the
longest middle-axes length. Thus, an aggregate particle is
generated in two steps:
(i) The lengths of the three middle-axes are calculated
randomly in accordance with the required size and
roundness of the particle.
(ii) The centre-point coordinates and axis directions are
fixed randomly.
2.1.1. Generation of ellipsoids of given size and shape
The two shortest middle-axes of the ellipsoid E3D may
be determined by the procedure as follows. When cutting
the ellipsoid E3D by the plane containing its centre point
and being perpendicular to the third and longest axis, an
ellipse E2D is obtained whose middle-axes are the same as
the two shortest ones of the ellipsoid. The requirement that
E3D passes through a quadratic sieve of mesh size m implies
that E2D fits in a square of edge length m. Let sx and sy
denote the length of the middle-axes
pffiffiffi of E2D. Thepdiagonal
ffiffiffi
of the square
pffiffiffi is of length 2m hence, sx 6 1=2 2m and
sy 6 1=2 2m. In fact, this condition is too weak and the
solution asks for a necessary and sufficient pffiffiffi condition in
which sy has to satisfy for a fixed sx 6 1=2 2m, i.e. it asks
1296 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303

for the maximal value which sy may take in order the ellipse x0 ¼ Aðx  cÞ and x ¼ AT x0 þ c; ð5Þ
fits in the square. In case of maximal sy, the centres of the T
where c = (cx, cy, cz) are the centre-point coordinates and
square and the ellipse coincide and the middle-axes of
A is the rotation matrix in terms of the three rotation
the ellipse have the same directions as the diagonals of
angles /x, /y, /z, considering the rotations in clockwise
the square. Considering then the square and ellipsoid in a
and opposite order. Note, an ellipsoid is mathematically
coordinate system, which has the common centre as origin
determined in the three-dimensional space by the nine
and the diagonals of the square as coordinate axes, the
values cx, cy, cz, sx, sy, sz, /x, /y and /z. However, the fre-
equation of the ellipse takes the form
quently used entries aij of the rotation matrix A were added
x2 y 2 to the computational representation of the ellipsoid to
þ  1 ¼ 0: ð1Þ
s2x s2y speed up the computations.
The mathematical representation of the ellipsoid surface
Subsequently,
pffiffiffi applying
pffiffiffi the affine transformation x ! in the global coordinate system, derived from the general
1=2 2mx, y ! 1=2 2my, which maps the vertices of the equation of a quadric surface, is given as follows:
square to the points (1, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0), (0, 1) and the
ellipse satisfies the equation Ax;x x2 þ Ay;y y 2 þ Az;z z2 þ Ax;y xy þ Ay;z yz þ Ax;z xz
m2 x2 m2 y 2 þ Bx x þ By y þ Bz z þ C ¼ 0 ð6Þ
þ 2 1¼0 ð2Þ
2s2x 2sy
The coefficients A, B and C of the surface in the global
with respect to the new coordinate system. Thereafter, coordinate system are obtained by substituting
applying appropriate transformations and boundary con-
ditions, the necessary and sufficient condition for the ellipse x0 ¼ a11 x þ a12 y þ a13 z  a11 cx  a12 cy  a13 cz
being entirely contained in the square may be stated as
y 0 ¼ a21 x þ a22 y þ a23 z  a21 cx  a22 cy  a23 cz ð7Þ
follows
0
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi z ¼ a31 x þ a32 y þ a33 z  a31 cx  a32 cy  a33 cz
1 pffiffiffi m2
0 < sx < 2m and 0 < sy 6  s2x : ð3Þ
2 2 into the equation of the ellipsoid, referred to the private
Moreover, in order to assure that the ellipsoid does not coordinate system, given by
pass through a second sieve of mesh size n < m, the follow-
ing condition must also be imposed: x02 y 02 z02
þ 2 þ 2  1 ¼ 0: ð8Þ
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi s2x sy sz
1 pffiffiffi n2
sx P 2n or sy >  s2x : ð4Þ
2 2
2.2. Allocation of the aggregate particles
Hence, assuming the sx 6 sy 6 sz, the lengths of the three
middles-axes can be computed in the following procedure: The allocation of the particles consists in finding suitable
values for the centre-point coordinates as well as for the
(i) Compute a random value for r, the ratio sx/sz (short- rotation angles. The word ‘‘suitable’’ here refers to three
est and longest middle-axes), with 0 < r0 6 r 6 r1 6 1, important requirements, i.e. the ellipsoids should not over-
where r0 and r1 are the given lower and upper bounds lap each other, should be entirely inside the specimen and
for the ratio r. fairly uniform distributed. In addition, efficient allocation
(ii) Compute a q random
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffi value for sx, the shortest middle- should be capable to fetch aggregate contents compared
axis, with 12 r22þ1rn < sx < 12 m. to the ones adopted in practice in a reasonable time. Simple
(iii) Set sz ¼ 1r sxp
. ffiffiffi random allocation procedures are unlikely to achieve such
(iv) If sx P 1=2 2n then compute a random value for sy, tasks. Therefore, the proposed allocation scheme uses only
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 initially a random procedure to determine a trial location.
with sx 6 sy 6 min sz ; m2  s2x ,
Thereafter, if the initial trial is not a valid location, a heuris-
(v) Else compute a random value for sy, with
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi tic procedure is employed to search for a valid position in
2 2
max sx ; n2  s2x 6 sy 6 min sz ; m2  s2x . the neighbourhood of the initial random trial. In addition,
a number of control mechanisms are introduced to smooth
2.1.2. Mathematical representation of ellipsoids the progress on allocating dense aggregate contents as well
In the proposed mechanism, the axes x, y, and z of the as to promote uniform distribution.
global coordinate system x are oriented normal to the sur- Starting by the sieves with larger aggregates in order to
face of the specimen. The private coordinate system of the ease the process, the allocation mechanism determines suit-
ellipsoid given by its middle-axes is referred to as the local able positions for particle after particle. Fig. 2 shows a
coordinate system x 0 . Global and local systems are related simplified two-dimensional graphical description of the
to each other by the coordinate transformations given in allocation steps, assuming that 14 aggregate particles have
matrix form as follows: already been successfully allocated. Hence, the description
 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
in Fig. 2 starts by selecting a trial or candidate location for
a certain particle (particle P15). The trial location is
obtained by determining random values for the centre-
point coordinates and the rotation angles for the axes.
Independent random number generators have to be used
for the directions x, y and z, in order to allow the incidence
of similar or identical values for the angles or coordinates
on the different directions. In addition, a random number
must not be used to simultaneously perform different tasks
or a uniform distribution of random values can no longer
be assured. The rotation angles /x, /y and /z are assigned
with random values lying in the interval [0, 2p], and the cen-
tre-point coordinates are computed as random values
bounded by internal planes parallel to the specimen sur-
face. The planes may be systematically adjusted along the
process in order to prevent that bulky amounts of aggre-
gate are allocated near to the specimen surface.
Once a trial location is selected, it undergoes firstly a
boundary checking routine to determine if the particle is
entirely inside of the specimen and thereafter another rou-
tine to determine if the ellipsoid being allocated would not
overlap any particle previously allocated. In such a case,
the trial location is accepted (particle P15).
Otherwise, if the trial location sets the particle partially
outside of the specimen, the mechanism forces the particle
to the nearest location inside by horizontal and/or vertical
shifts of the centre point. Then, if the trial particle would
not overlap other one previously allocated, the new loca-
tion is adopted (particle P16). However, if the particle over-
laps an existing particle, the mechanism attempts
Fig. 2. Simplified 2D graphical outline of allocation procedure.
1297
sequential shifts in a same direction until the overlapping
is removed.
The standard direction for the initial sequence of shifts
is along the line connecting the centre points of the two
overlapping particles. Exception is made for the specific
case, in which the trial particle overlaps an existent one
after being shifted into the inside of the specimen. In such
a case, the standard direction would likely to send the par-
ticle once again partially outside. The direction of the
shifts in this case is given by a line B, which is perpendic-
ular to and passes through the middle of line A, which
connects the centre points of the current trial particle
(P17) and the overlapped particle (P1). Yet line B is ori-
ented by a random angle around line A. After the overlap-
ping is removed, the boundary and overlapping checks are
performed again to assure that the trial particle in the new
attempted position remains inside of the specimen and
does not overlap any other previously allocated particle.
In such a case, the new attempted location is accepted
(particle P17).
In the case that a particle, in a random trial location, is
entirely contained in the specimen but overlaps an existing
particle, the mechanism attempts to remove the overlapping
by performing a maximum of ten spins according to certain
probability of success (ps). A spin consists of a random rota-
tion around each of the three axes, i.e. defining three new
random values for the rotation angles. The control value
cs, to determine whether spins are to be carried out or not,
may be specified in advance or defined automatically during
each trial at random. Thus a spin is only performed if
1298 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
 
ð1:5  r3t Þd te
ps ¼ min ; 1:0 > cs
at þ ae
where dte is the distance between the centre points of the two
overlapping particles, at and ae are respectively the largest
middle-axes of the trial and existent particles, rt is the round-
ness of the trial particle. If the spins successfully remove the
overlapping without moving the particle partially outside of
the specimen, the new location is accepted (particle P18). If
not, the mechanism performs sequential shifts in the stan-
dard direction, until the overlapping is removed. Thereafter,
if the trial particle remains entirely inside of the specimen
and does not overlap any other existing one, the location is
accepted (particle P19).
In case the shifts along the standard direction result in
overlapping of another particle, a second and third direc-
tion are subsequently attempted. If, however, all the men-
tioned attempts fail to find a valid location, a new trial
location is selected at random. Thus, the sequence to
remove overlapping may be summarised as follows:
(i) Perform spin with a certain probability.
(ii) Perform sequential shifts in the standard direction
(P20) and/or secondary direction (P21/P17).
(iii) Perform sequential shifts in a random direction (trial
P22).
(iv) Select new trial position (P22).
• After every movement check boundaries and if
overlapping was removed.
• After overlapping being removed check boundaries
and overlapping with other existent particles.
Note that since a particle (P23) lying partially outside of
the specimen is shifted into the interior of the specimen,
attempts to set the centre point at any position along the
line C would produce an acceptable location. However,
the probability of a particle being placed next to the surface
would be quite high. In order to overcome such a draw-
back, the internal planes are used to limit the space for allo-
cation of the centre points near the surface. Since this effect
is only significant for the allocation of the large particles,
the planes are gradually moved towards the surface from
sieve to sieve. The internal planes are used as boundary
limits only for the centre points and a covering layer is used
to confine the particles inside of the specimen.
The investigation of intersection of ellipsoids by only
numerical methods is very time consuming and would
make the generation of a realistic aggregate-mortar struc-
ture almost untractable. However, the intersection problem
can be transformed using so-called Gröbner bases and
Sturm sequences into a much simpler form where the
numerical solution becomes very fast and does not require
neither recursions nor iterations. Detailed formulation and
solution for investigation of overlapping of aggregates and
also violation of the specimen boundaries is presented in a
research report [10].
3. Structural idealization and analysis
ð9Þ
The utilisation of discrete models to describe the nonlin-
ear behaviour of materials such as rock or concrete has
gained growing popularity during the last 30 years [11].
Each of such discrete models presents a set of different
assumptions with regards to material idealisation, struc-
tural idealization, mechanical properties and fracture
behaviour of the discrete elements. In addition, these mod-
els may differ also in the consideration of the loading con-
dition (tension or compression). Consequently, all of these
models have been reported fairly successful in their specific
purposes, but hardly efficient in describing the material
behaviour in situations other than the ones for which they
have been tailored. In the particular case of cementitious
composites, this suggests that general-purpose tools may
require a certain level of flexibility to accommodate the
effects caused by differences in the material compositions.
The model presented here combines many of the suc-
cessful features of existing models and some supplementary
new features. The corresponding simulation software
developed in this study allows the selection of different soft-
ening functions, mechanical properties and probabilistic
scattering independently for each material component. It
also allows a selection among four different framework
type elements: planar truss (4 degrees of freedom), planar
frame (6 d.o.f.), space truss (6 d.o.f.) and space frame (12
d.o.f.) elements. The meshes are initially generated as per-
fect lattices. Subsequently, small nodal perturbations may
be imposed in order to produce irregular meshes. The ini-
tial 2D (square) grid consists of four nodes interconnected
by four lateral elements and two diagonals, while the 3D
(cubic) grid consists of eight nodes interconnected by 12
edge elements, 12 diagonals on faces and four internal diag-
onals. Cross-sectional areas of the different classes of
elements (edge, diagonals, etc.) are automatically set in a
manner that the stiffness of the mesh matches the stiffness
of the continuum (assuming same elastic modulus E for
all mesh elements of a certain material component). Yet,
the implemented software allows for manual assignment
of different values for each class of elements.
The material types for the line elements are assigned by
projecting the lattice onto the aggregate-matrix structure,
see Fig. 3, and detecting whether both element nodes lie
inside of the same aggregate (aggregate material) or both
element nodes lie in the matrix and the element does not
intersect any aggregate (matrix material). Otherwise, the
element is considered as bond interface between the two
other materials (darkest regions in Fig. 3). In the case of
perfect bonding, the material stiffness of each bond inter-
face element is assigned proportionally to the amount of
each of the two materials in the element. In case of weak
bonding, the interface element is considered as a third
and independent material.
A common approach, which has been employed by var-
ious researchers [4,5], to simulate the material behaviour
 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303 1299

Fig. 3. Discretised 2D specimens: matrix–interface–aggregate structure for tension/compression simulations (left frame); fibre reinforced concrete
structure for simulations of wedge-splitting tests (right frame).

and overall fracture process is the employment of a failure simulation. For computational convenience, the fibres were
criterion for determining the collapse of discrete elements, placed only in the lower half of the specimen. In Fig. 4, the
after which the elements are removed. Thus after an initial aggregate structure and mesh elements were made invisible,
linear response, a nonlinear behaviour is obtained as result to show the arrangement of the fibres in a 3D model. For
of the successive failure of the elastic-brittle discrete ele- the fibre elements, a softening function was derived on the
ments. This approach seems apparently simple but also basis of a bond-slip relation.
dependent on the size of the discrete elements. Further-
more, a comparably brittle and rather unrealistic post-
peak response in obtained. In this work, an alternative
approach, which includes a tensile softening branch in
the material law of the discrete element was implemented,
assigning different softening laws in tension and compres-
sion for the different materials. The tensile softening func-
tions are described on the basis of stress crack-opening
laws. By assuming softening also in compression, a more
realistic post-peak response is obtained [7] as compared
to models which incorporate only tensile softening [6]. In
order to adjust the elastic moduli of the softened elements
at each step of the analysis, a number of procedures have
been implemented for the different structural element
types. The stress analysis is carried out in incrementally
stepwise manner under displacement control using a direct
solver.
Fibre reinforcement was also modelled by introducing
additional elements connecting distant mesh nodes in the
matrix media, after the generation of the matrix–aggregate
structure. Since the allocation of fibres is associated to the
mesh structure, the fibres are independently placed in 2D
and 3D concrete structures by different algorithms. Fig. 3 Fig. 4. Arrangement of fibres in a 3D specimen, in which the concrete
(right) shows detail of half specimen for 2D wedge-splitting structure was made invisible.
1300 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
Fig. 5. Typical crack pattern and damage condition obtained in 2D-simulations with cubic specimens under direct tensile loading.
4. Simulations and discussion
In this section, some simulation results are presented in
order to demonstrate the applicability of the model. A
more detailed discussion of results is given in [7].
Before attempting to use the model to investigate the
influence of mechanical component properties on the frac-
ture behaviour, it was necessary to ensure that the model
describes faithfully the overall response of the composite
material. Therefore, in an initial stage, large series of sim-
ulations with specimens of various types under different
loading conditions were carried out to calibrate and vali-
date the model.
Fig. 5 (left) shows typical crack pattern and damage
state of the discrete elements obtained in the simulations
of direct tensile tests. A single crack surface develops along
the aggregate–matrix interfaces cutting the specimen in two
pieces. The image on the right shows the damage state of
the discrete elements, just before the collapse. The light
shade (green colour)1 denotes elements that never crossed
the elastic limit, i.e. never entered in softening, while the
dark shade (red colour) designates those elements which
have collapsed. In medium shade (blue colour), are the ele-
ments that have undergone softening at a certain stage (i.e.
lost some stiffness) and therefore their status is displayed as
partially damaged. Comparing the two frames of Fig. 5, it
may be observed that microcracks have initiated in various
regions of the specimen, however the deformation was par-
tially or totally recovered in most of these regions as the
crack surface develops. Such results are in perfect agree-
ment with experimental observations.
In simulations of uniaxial compression of cubic speci-
mens, the typical cracking pattern may be described as tor-
tuous ‘‘parallel’’ cracks along the loading direction and in
some cases as diagonal shear cracks or as a mix of parallel
1
For references to colors in figures, the reader is referred to the web
version of this article.
and shear cracks, see Fig. 6. When compared with experi-
mental findings, see Fig. 6, lower left frame, the numeri-
cally obtained crack patterns appear to be realistic.
Fig. 7 compares the fracture behaviour in wedge-split-
ting simulations with and without fibres. In the left frame,
corresponding to a concrete specimen without fibres, the
elements that have undergone softening (dark shade, blue
colour), due to the rising of localized stresses, perfectly
describe the fracture process zone as reported in experi-
mental observations. The final cracking surface starts
immediately below the notch and runs down along the
aggregate–matrix interfaces. Fig. 7, at the right, shows a
specimen with identical concrete structure of the one in
the left frame but containing steel fibres. Note that, in such
a case redistribution of stresses occurred resulting in
changes in the configuration of the fracture process zone
and in the cracking path.
The stress–displacement curves recorded during the sim-
ulations of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) and plain
concrete specimens under direct tension are presented in
Fig. 8. In the SFRC curves, the maximum load is only
slightly influenced by the fibres whereas the post-peak
strength increases notably with the fibre content, yielding
more ductile fracture as consequence of crack deflections
and branching revealed in the cracking patterns of the sim-
ulations, see Fig. 9. Results agree with experimental find-
ings but the 2D model is limited to low aggregate content
specimens or consideration of coarse particles only.
Increasing of aggregate or fibre contents produces jamming
of fibres in localized areas and temporarily increases in
strength. Such effects may be at certain extent observed
also in experimental testing, but using higher aggregate
and fibre contents than the ones employed in these simula-
tions. This discrepancy may in part be result of inaccura-
cies in simplifications of 2D representations of fibres. The
3D models do not present these problems, since the fibres
are allocated in their real positions. In fact, the 3D simula-
tion may present more uniform distribution and allow
higher fibre contents than the ones observed in practice,
 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303 1301

Fig. 6. Typical crack patterns and damage condition of cubic specimens under uniaxial compression obtained in 2D-simulations and in experimental
testing.

Fig. 7. Comparison of damage processes in wedge-splitting simulations of specimens with identical concrete structure, with (right frame) and without (left
frame) fibre reinforcement.

since distribution and content are interrelated with the
workability of the fresh concrete.
Extensive parametric studies over large series of simula-
tions have been carried out to investigate the influence of
the material composition, as well as influences of geometri-
cal and mechanical properties of aggregates and fibres on
the fracture behaviour [7,10]. In addition, the performance
of the generation mechanism was accessed in terms of
aggregate distribution, aggregate content and computa-
tional time for different aggregate size and shape [10]. How-
ever, a comprehensive report of such results is beyond the
scope of this paper.
1302 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
4.0
3.5
3.0
Stress [MPa]
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.00 0.02
Fig. 8. Stress-displacement curves of direct tension simulations with and without fibres.
Fig. 9. Comparison of crack patterns with (right frame) and without (left frame) fibre reinforcement, obtained from direct tension simulations of
specimens with identical concrete structure.
5. Conclusions
A mesolevel model was presented, which is a prospective
tool to describe both qualitative and quantitative effects of
independent mechanical properties of different material
components into the global mechanical properties of the
composite material. The model was proved efficient to
reproduce the trends in mechanical properties and overall
tensile and compressive fracture behaviours in good agree-
ment with experimental observations. Experimental studies
can only statistically estimate such effects through analyses
of samples, since two or more specimens with identical
structure cannot repeat in experimental tests. In addition,
in experimental tests it is hardly possible to investigate
influence of changes in properties of independent compo-
nents, since changes in one component result usually in
0 vol.-%
0.50 vol.-%
1.25 vol.-%
2.00 vol.-%
0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12
Displacement [mm]
adjustment of other components. As far as fibre reinforce-
ment is concerned, pullout tests can describe the interac-
tions between fibre and matrix, but not the behaviour of
the composite material.
The proposed generation mechanism for the concrete
structure is capable to obtain dense packing of particles
and uniform distributions in relatively short computational
time. The resulting concrete structure provides sufficient
detail to allow implementation of most significant factors
affecting the fracture behaviour. The mechanism makes
the proposed computational model suitable for both 3D
and 2D analyses, with the advantage of dealing with a
unique mesoscopic concrete structure. The obtained
more realistic concrete structure has allowed substantial
enhancement in simulations of concrete under compression
and reflects better understanding of the material behaviour.
 J.P.B. Leite et al. / Computers and Structures 85 (2007) 1293–1303
Although 3D idealisations and analyses require more
sophisticated setting and higher computational effort, they
are clearly more accurate and naturally suitable for practical
applications. The 2D analyses suffer from a number of limi-
tations and in general escalate the problems. On the other
hand, they are more efficient to spot out the inconsistencies,
and therefore particularly useful for model development.
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