Effect of micro-macro crack interaction on softening behaviour of concrete fracture.

• Interaction between microcracking and the macrocrack opening in concrete is studied using DIC and AE techniques. • The study reveals a transient behaviour of macrocrack opening as microcracks are formed in the surrounding. • A fracture mechanics based approach is presented to consider the effects of micro-macro crack interaction. • An improved softening model is presented and local fracture energy is determined. During the fracture of concrete the formation of microcracks is a continuous process where new microcracks are formed in the vicinity of the macrocrack. As the fracture grows, these microcracks interact with the macrocrack and disrupt its smooth opening. In fracture mechanics based approaches; a smooth stress-crack opening softening behaviour is generally used to describe the local fracture process, where the effect of micro-macro crack interactions is lacking. This paper presents firstly an experimental study on the interaction between microcracking and the macrocrack opening (COD) in concrete using digital image correlation and acoustic emission techniques. The study reveals a transient behaviour of macrocrack opening as microcracks are formed in the surrounding. Based on the experimental results, the paper presents a new approach based on fracture mechanics to consider the effects of micro-macro crack interaction on the stress-crack opening softening behaviour. Local fracture energy is determined using the new softening model with micro-macro crack interaction for different geometrically similar sizes of the beams and at different locations on the crack profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]