Strain-based anisotropic damage modelling and unilateral effects

A new continuum damage mechanics model is developed to describe the behaviour of quasi-brittle materials under general path loading. The induced damage is represented by a second rank symmetric tensor. The constitutive equations are based on irreversible thermodynamics theory. The strain-based model covers in an unified way the unsymmetrical behaviour in tension and in compression and the unilateral response due to crack closure effect. Uniaxial stress tests (in tension as in compression) show realistic non-linear responses in the stress–strain space. The different behaviour in both domains is covered by a single set of equations. A significant volume dilatation is noticed in compression. The model can be generalised to time-dependent phenomena.