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An unconventional multi-scale approach is investigated to model interfacial damage and subsequent effects in highly filled particulate composites such as solid propellants. The basic framework by Nadot et al. (2006 Damage modelling framework for viscoelastic particulate composites via a scale transition approach, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics 44:553–583) is enhanced to deal with damage state and configuration evolution under any loading. Three criteria are formulated at the microscale. The first one concerns the nucleation of new defects, while the other two (for closure and re-opening) monitor the respective proportions of open and closed defects. The formulation exploits the explicit microstructure representation and the knowledge of the local displacement field as a function of local morphology around the interfaces. The multi-scale model is finally implemented through a numerical solving procedure able to deal with successive and/or simultaneous discrete damage events (nucleation/closure/re-opening of defects) depending on the loading path. Numerical illustrations are given for a three-dimensional microstructure containing 351 particles submitted to complex loading sequence involving extension, shear and contraction stages. The results show the ability of the model to estimate damage characteristics (position, orientation within the material) in addition to induced effects at both microscale and macroscale (induced anisotropy, unilateral effects and influence on local fields). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]