A plastic-damage constitutive model for the finite element analysis of fibre reinforced concrete

A unique constitutive model for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is presented, which combines a number of mechanics-based sub models for the simulation of directional cracking, rough crack contact and the crack-bridging action of fibres. The model also contains a plasticity component to simulate compressive behaviour. The plasticity component employs a frictional hardening/softening function which considers the variation of compressive strength and strain at peak stress with fibre content. Numerical results from a range of single-point and finite element simulations of experimental tests show that the model captures the characteristic behaviour of conventional fibre reinforced concrete with good accuracy.