Elastoplastic model with damage for strain softening geomaterials

The paper examines certain important aspects of a rate independent model that accounts for distributed damage due to microcrack growth. Material behavior is considered as a mixture of two elastic-plastic interacting components, one termed topical (undamaged), and the other termed damaged. Energy considerations show the equivalence of the two-component body to an elastic-plastic body containing cracks; the equivalence is considered in the Griffith sense. The mechanisms of failure are considered and discussed with respect to multiaxial stress paths. An explanation of failure, at the microlevel, is given. A series of laboratory tests on a concrete are used to illustrate the development of failure.