Numerical Simulation of Quasi-Static and Dynamic Experiments of Standard and Dam Concrete

Aggregate size effect is among several important factors that affect concrete mechanical behavior. In this study, this effect is investigated numerically, and the obtained results are compared with the gathered experimental data that are recently performed at Politecnico di Milano and the Joint Research Center of Ispra, Italy. Since concrete is a rate-dependent material, different types of static and dynamic experiments are carried out to study the aggregate size effect on concrete response. The Lattice Discrete Particle Model (LDPM), a three-dimensional mesoscale discrete model, is employed to simulate concrete mechanical response. LDPM simulates concrete at the level of coarse aggregate pieces and is capable of characterizing strain localization, distributed cracking in tension and compression and to reproduce post peak softening behavior. The parameters governing different aspects of LDPM from concrete mixture design to the meso-scale mechanical constitutive law are calibrated and used in the validation process.