Micromechanical analysis of anisotropic damage in brittle materials

A general three-dimensional micromechanical approach to modeling anisotropic damage of brittle materials such as concrete, rocks, or certain ceramics is presented. Damage is analyzed as a direct consequence of microcracks growth. Following a rigorous scale change methodology, the macroscopic free energy of the microcracked medium is built considering either open and closed microcracks. Moreover, the microcracks opening/closure criterion as well as the moduli recovery conditions (unilateral effects) are addressed in stress-based and strain-based formulations. An alternative derivation of the homogenized properties, based on the well-known Eshelby method, is also presented and extended here to closed cracks. From the micromechanical analysis, an energy-based yield condition is formulated and illustrated in various stress subspaces. Assuming that the normality rule applies, we then present the damage evolution law and the rate form of the constitutive model. The main capabilities and advantages of the micromechanical model are illustrated through various examples in which material microstructure evolutions are presented.