identification of concrete fracture parameters using digital image correlation and inverse analysis

301 Pages·2017·6.92 MB·English

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers
2013
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Wafa Polies Asmaro
University of Windsor
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Polies Asmaro, Wafa, "IDENTIFICATION OF CONCRETE FRACTURE PARAMETERS USING DIGITAL IMAGE
CORRELATION AND INVERSE ANALYSIS" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4952.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/4952
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IDENTIFICATION OF CONCRETE FRACTURE PARAMETERS USING DIGITAL
IMAGE CORRELATION AND INVERSE ANALYSIS

By
Wafa Polies Asmaro

A Dissertation
Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate
Studies through Civil and Environmental Engineering
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of Windsor

Windsor, Ontario, Canada
2013
© 2013 Wafa Polies
IDENTIFICATION OF CONCRETE FRACTURE PARAMETERS USING DIGITAL
IMAGE CORRELATION AND INVERSE ANALYSIS

By
Wafa Polies

APPROVED BY:
___________________________________
P. Leger, External Examiner
Ecole Polytechnique Montreal, University of Montreal
______________________________________________
D. Green, Outside Department Reader
Department of Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering

______________________________________________
A. El Ragaby, Department Reader
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

______________________________________________
M. Madugula, Department Reader
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

______________________________________________
F. Ghrib, Principal Advisor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

______________________________________________
S. Cheng, Co-Advisor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
June 14, 2013
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this dissertation and that no part of this
dissertation has been published or submitted for publication.

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my dissertation does not infringe upon
anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques,
quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my
dissertation, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the
standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included
copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the
Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the
copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of
such copyright clearances to my appendix.

I declare that this is a true copy of my dissertation, including any final revisions, as
approved by my dissertation committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this
thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution.

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ABSTRACT

Concrete is one of the oldest materials used for construction, yet it still poses
fundamental problems for engineers and researchers. The most critical problem is the
propagation of cracks in concrete structures, but the mere presence of cracks does not
necessarily mean that the concrete structure has reached the limit of its service life;
however, instability caused by the propagation of these defects could result in the failure
of a concrete structure. Thus, the focus of fracture mechanics is on assessing the stability
of a structure, rather than detecting the presence of cracks.

An accurate analysis of the progress of a fracture is required for assessing the
integrity of a concrete structure and to predict its future performance. Accordingly, finite
element analysis was used to model the performance of cracked concrete structures using
available damage models, which require accurate evaluation of the mechanical and
fracture properties. While concrete’s mechanical properties are well known, the
identification of concrete’s fracture parameters poses an ongoing challenge.

Concrete is a heterogeneous material with complicated fracture patterns.
Therefore, sensors attached directly to the specimen to measure the crack opening do not
provide accurate measures. The objective of this research is to develop a new
methodology to study a cracked concrete structure’s performance using a non-contact
technique to monitor the development of the fracture process zone without causing
interference during fracture. Consequently, Digital Image Correlation was chosen and
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applied successfully to the Wedge Splitting Test to study a cracked structure’s response,
represented by the mean of the load-crack tip opening displacement.

Since the WST is an indirect fracture test, the experimental data was used to
identify concrete fracture parameters by means of inverse analysis based on the cohesive
crack model. The associated forward problem is based on the cracked hinge model,
which is capable of accounting for the softening phenomenon.

The use of Digital Image Correlation made it possible to study the dynamics of
crack propagation. Experimental observations are thoroughly discussed, with special
attention being placed on the monitoring of the crack’s evolution, and the variation of
dissipated energy and tensile damage along the crack path.

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DEDICATION

TO MY LOVELY CHILDREN

RITA, RIVA & RYAN

This would not have been possible without your love, patience, and
understanding.

vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank God who gave me strength and patience
while guiding me in the work of this Dissertation. Without His blessings, this research
work could not have been completed.

This project has been carried out under the supervision and guidance of Dr.
Faouzi Ghrib to whom I am grateful for his endless constructive commentary, valuable
suggestions, and continuous support in making this study a success. I am also grateful to
my co-advisor, Dr. Shaohong Cheng, for all her support.

I was privileged and honored to have Dr. Pierre Leger as the external examiner. I
am in appreciation for his acceptance of this invitation and I am also grateful for the time
and effort he dedicated in making valuable recommendations for this dissertation.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Outside Department Reader,
Dr. Daniel Green, for his encouragements, and the time and effort he dedicated to read
this dissertation and provide constructive suggestions. Dr. Daniel Green supplied the
ARAMIS system that was crucial to this research work.

I would like to thank Dr. Amr El Ragaby, the Department Reader, for the time he
dedicated in reading and reviewing this dissertation and also for his support, valuable
advices, and recommendations.
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I would like to thank Dr. Murty Madugula, the Department Reader, for his time in
reviewing this dissertation and also for his valuable recommendations.

Completion of this doctoral dissertation would not have been possible without the
technical staff: Lucian Pop, Patrick Seguin, and Matthew St. Louis. Their assistance
during laboratory work is crucial and much appreciated.

I would like to also thank my colleagues Mena Bebawy, Li Li, Nori Saady, and
Muhsin Hamdoon for their constant support. A special thanks is extended to Jan Skoček,
from the Technical University of Denmark, for his valuable advice regarding the wedge
splitting test set-up.

A special appreciation is also extended to the faculty and staff of the Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering including the Faculty of Engineering and the
Faculty of Graduate Studies and also to the Leddy Library of the University of Windsor.

Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Laith, for his
understanding and encouragements and also to my lovely children: Rita, Riva, and Ryan
for their love, patience, and sacrifices.

To all of those people, I would like to say God bless you.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY .............................................................................. iii
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………….…………………….….....iv
DEDICATION …………………………………………………………………………………………..vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xiii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION
1.1 General ..............................................................................................1
1.2 Problem Definition ............................................................................ 2
1.3 Research Objectives and Scope ......................................................... 8
1.4 Thesis Contents and Organization .................................................... 11
II. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW OF CONCRETE
FRACTURE MECHANICS
2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 13
2.2 History of Fracture Mechanics ......................................................... 14
2.3 Mechanical Properties of Concrete .................................................. 17
2.4 Fracture Properties of Concrete ........................................................ 20
2.5 Deficiencies in Concrete Structure ................................................... 23
2.6 Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) ..................................... 24
2.7 Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics (NLFM) .......................................... 27
2.8 Application of Fracture Mechanics to Concrete Material ................ 29
2.9 Fracture Mechanisms and Structural Design ................................... 31
2.10 Modeling Concrete Fracture Behaviour ........................................... 35
2.11 Simulation of Concrete Structural Damage and Cracking ............... 41
2.12 Experimental Techniques for Concrete Fracture Characterization .. 53
2.12.1 Experimental Determination of Concrete Fracture
Parameters ........................................................................... 53
2.12.2 Experimental Investigations of the FPZ and Crack
Evolution ............................................................................. 68
2.13 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 76
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