Development and application of a new discrete element into simulation of nonlinear behavior of concrete

A new element based on the concept of Rigid Body Spring Model (RBSM) that inherently incorporates Poisson effect is developed and utilized to simulate the nonlinear behavior of concrete. Initially, the behavior of element in linear state is successfully verified. For the nonlinear applications in simulation of concrete, nonlinear material models are implemented based on mesoscale modeling technique that does not suffer from complexity of macroscopic models based on volumetric and deviatoric stress and strain tensors separation. Beside capability of incorporating the Poisson's ratio of the material, with the new material models implemented, the new element can represent the complex behavior of concrete. The uniaxial compressive and tensile test beside splitting tensile test on concrete specimen were simulated successfully and similar cracking patterns to the experiments were observed in the simulations.