CEMENT and CONCRETE RESEARCH. Vol. 6, pp. 773-782, 1976. Pergamon Press, Inc.

Printed in the United States.

ANALYSIS OF CRACK FORMATION AND CRACK GROWTH IN CONCRETE BY

MEANS OF FRACTURE MECHANICS AND FINITE ELEMENTS

A H i l l e r b o r g , M Mod~er and P-E Petersson

Division of Building Materials
Lund I n s t i t u t e of Technology, Lund, Sweden

(Communicated by Z. P. Bazant)
(Received August 24, 1976)

ABSTRACT

A method is presented in which fracture mechanics is introduced into

f i n i t e element analysis by means of a model where stresses are assumed
to act across a crack as long as i t is narrowly opened. This assump-
tion may be regarded as a way of expressing the energy absorption Gc
in the energy balance approach, but i t is also in agreement with re-
sults of tension tests. As a demonstration the method has been applied
to the bending of an unreinforced beam, which has led to an explana-
tion of the difference between bending strength and t e n s i l e strength,
and of the variation in bending strength with beam depth.

Une m6thode est present,e, par laquelle la m6chanique des ruptures est
i n t r o d u i t e dans l'analyse des ~l~ments f i n i s ~ l ' a i d e d'un module, oO
les contraintes sont suppos6es d'op6rer sur les c6t6s d'une fissure
tant que cette f i s s u r e est ~ t r o i t e .
Cette hypoth~se peut etre consid~r~e comme un moyen d'exprimer l ' a b -
sorption Gc d'6nergie en usant l'approche de l ' ~ q u i l i b r e d'6nergie.
Cette hypoth6se est aussi j u s t i f i 6 e par les r 6 s u l t a t s des essais de
tension.
Pour en prouver la v a l i d i t Y , cette m~thode a ~t~ appliqu~e au fl6chisse-
ment d'une poutre non arm~e et f o u r n i t une explication de la diff6rence
entre la r~sistance au moment de flexion et la r~sistance ~ l ' e f f o r t de
tension, ainsi que de la variation de la r~sistance au moment de flexion
en fonction de la profondeur de la poutre.

773
774 Vol. 6, No. 6
A. H i l l e r b o r g , M. Mod4er, P-E. Petersson

Importance of cracks and crack growth

Crack formation and crack growth play an important part in
the performance of unreinforced and reinforced concrete. Examples
of t h i s are
crack spacing and crack width in bending
shear chracks and t h e i r e f f e c t on shear capacity
cracking moment of reinforced and unreinforced beams
microcracks in compression and compression f a i l u r e .
A rational design in these cases ought to be based on r e a l i s -
t i c t h e o r e t i c a l models, which take crack formation and crack propa-
gation i n t o account. So f a r no such models have been a v a i l a b l e . Con-
sequently the design methods have had to be based on empirical re-
search, supported by s i m p l i f i e d models.
Recent advances w i t h i n f r a c t u r e mechanics and f i n i t e element
methods (FEM) have now given us a p o s s i b i l i t y of analysing crack
growth. Fracture mechanics gives the fundamental rules f o r crack
propagation and FEM makes i t possible to apply these rules to comp-
l i c a t e d cases.
The cases we wish to analyse are rather complicated, as they
involve diverse phenomena, such as
formation and propagation of cracks
two or more p a r a l l e l cracks
bent shear cracks
shrinkage s t r a i n s
i n t e r a c t i o n between concrete and reinforcement
i n t e r a c t i o n between cement matrix and aggregate.
I t is therefore necessary to use FEM and also to t r y and find
a method which s i m p l i f i e s the analysis as much as possible.

Proposed approach
There are many methods to choose from f r a c t u r e mechanics, e.g.
the stress i n t e n s i t y f a c t o r approach
the energy balance approach
the " s t r i p - y i e l d " model according to Dugdale
the cohesive force model according to Barenblatt.
The d i f f e r e n t methcds are known to give coherent r e s u l t s .
In the stress i n t e n s i t y f a c t o r approach the stresses near the
crack t i p are studied. These stresses t h e o r e t i c a l l y a ag_j~roach i n f i n i t y
at the crack t i p according to the expression o = K/V2~r, where r is
the distance from the crack t i p and K is a c o e f f i c i e n t , the stress i n -
t e n s i t y f a c t o r , depending on the load, the crack dimensions, etc. When
K reaches a c r i t i c a l value Kc, the crack propagates.
The stress i n t e n s i t y f a c t o r approach has been used a great deal
in FEM analysis. The d i r e c t method requires a FEM mesh with very small
elements close to the crack t i p , which l i m i t s i t s a p p l i c a b i l i t y to
Vol. 6, No. 6 775
FRACTURE MECHANICS, ANALYSIS, CONCRETE

complicated problems. I n d i r e c t and special methods permit the use

of greater elements. The methods cannot explain the formation of
cracks, only the propagation.
In the energy balance approach i t is assumed t h a t a certain
amount of energy Gc is absorbed by the formation of a u n i t area of
crack surface. When a crack propagates a certain amount of stored
energy is released. The crack propagates when the released energy
is equal to or greater than the absorbed energy. FEM has been used
to determine the energy release rate in the energy balance approach,
see e.g. / 5 / . This enables the use of a FEM mesh with rather large
elements. The formation of cracks cannot be explained.
In the Dugdale model i t is assumed that there is a p l a s t i c
zone near the crack t i p according to Fig. I . Within the p l a s t i c
zone a stress equal to the y i e l d strength ~y acts across the crack.
The Barenblatt model is s i m i l a r to the Dugdale model, but the stress
is assumed to vary with the deformation. I t does not seem to have
been used in f i n i t e element analysis.
The basic idea of the model we propose is demonstrated in Fig.
2. I t is in some respects s i m i l a r to the Barenblatt model. The model
is described only for mode I (the opening mode), but i t may also be
applied to modes I I and I I I .

elastic crock crctck length

|

real crack ~piastic zone]

i L
, I

Fig. 1 The Dugdale model f o r Fig. 2 Proposed model

crack t i p p l a s t i c i t y

The crack is assumed to propagate when the stress at the crack

t i p reaches the t e n s i l e strength f t " When the crack opens the stress
is not assumed to f a l l to zero at once, but to decrease w i t h increas-
ing crack width w, for example according to Fig. 3. At the crack
width wI the stress has f a l l e n to zero. For t h a t part of the crack
where W<Wl, the "crack" in r e a l i t y corresponds to a microcraced
zone with some remaining ligaments for stress t r a n s f e r . As there is
a stress to be overcome in opening the crack, energy is absorbed.
The amount of energy absorbed per u n i t crack area in widening the
crack from zero to or beyond wI is

0
and c o r r e s p o n d s to t he area between the curve and the c o o r d i n a t e
a x i s ' in Fig. 3.
776 Vol, 6, No. 6
A. H i l l e r b o r g , M. Modeer, P-E. Petersson

Cr
Fig. 3 Assumed v a r i a t i o n of
stress o with crack
ft width w, general case

We now choose the curve in Fig. 3 so that

0
I
w! W
71dw = G (I)
C
0

which means that the energy absorbed per newformed u n i t crack area is
the same as in the energy balance approach. The model of Fig. 2 may
thus be looked upon as a way of expressing the energy balance approach.
At the same time the assumption of Fig. 2 may be looked upon as
a r e a l i t y . Stresses may be present in a microcracked zone as long as
the corresponding displacement is small. This has been c l e a r l y demon-
strated in tension t e s t s , using a very r i g i d t e s t i n g equipment, e . g . ,
by Evans and Marathe / 4 / ; cf. Fig. 5.
By the a p p l i c a t i o n of the proposed model the curve ~(w) may be
chosen in d i f f e r e n t ways, e.g. according to Figs. 4a, b or c, which
a l l show simple mathematical r e l a t i o n s . For t y p i c a l y i e l d i n g materi-
a l s , l i k e mild s t e e l , Fig. 4a seems to be the best choice. I t corre-
sponds e x a c t l y to the Dugdale model with f t = ~y.and ~I = COD at i n i -
t i a t i o n of crack growth. The d i s c o n t i n u i t y may glve r l s e to some prob-
lems by the a p p l i c a t i o n in FEM, but they are not serious.

fl Fig. 4 Examples of pos-

s i b l e assumptions
of v a r i a t i o n of
stress ~ with crack
L width w in practical
w I w W W I W
applications
b) C)

For concrete i t seems t h a t Fig. 4c is the best choice as i t

corresponds reasonably well with tension t e s t r e s u l t s / 4 / , cf. Fig.
5. I t is also simple, continuous and s u i t a b l e f o r FEM analysis. For
our purpose we have therefore chosen Fig. 4c.
We then obtain

~dw = ftwl/2
0
or from ( I ) ,
wI = 2Gc/f t (2)
For ordinary concrete Gc/f t seems to be of the order 0.005 -
Vol. 6, No. 6 777
FP~ACTURE MECHANICS, ANALYSIS, CONCRETE

O.Ol mm, cf. / I / , and thus wI of the order 0.01 - 0.02 mm. In the
a p p l i c a t i o n we f u r t h e r assume that the concrete is l i n e a r - e l a s t i c
u n t i l f t is reached.
Fig. 5 shows a comparison between our assumptions with Gc/f t
= 0.01 mm, ~ / f t = I0 000 and a tension t e s t from / 4 / with a gage
length of 1 (25 mm). This corresponds to a t h e o r e t i c a l average
elongation over thergage length when ~ reaches O, i . e . w = Wl, of
2.0.01/25 = 800-I0 - . The assumptions seem to agree reasonably with
the t e s t r e s u l t . A lower value of E/f t would have improved the agree-
ment, but from the point of view of the energy balance approach the
E-value corresponding to unloading is most important and t h i s j u s t i -
f i e s the choice E/f t = I0 000.

ft
Fig. 5 A test result
from a t e n s i l e
t e s t according
to Evans & Mara-
the / 4 / , compared
to a corresponding
assumed r e l a t i o n
by the analysis
or , , , ~ .
0 200 ZOO 600 BOO Strain x 106
(1" gage length)

A special feature of the proposed method is t h a t i t explains

not only the growth of e x i s t i n g cracks, but also the formation of new
cracks, as i t is assumed t h a t cracks s t a r t forming when the t e n s i l e
stress reaches f t , i . e . , t h e same c r i t e r i o n is used f o r formation and
propagation of cracks.
The analysis can be performed with a rather coarse mesh,
as in the example below, because there are no stress s i n g u l a r i t i e s
and the amount of absorbed energy is not very s e n s i t i v e to the mesh
size. The p o s s i b i l i t y of using a coarse mesh means t h a t rather comp-
l i c a t e d problems can also be treated without using too many elements.

A p p l i c a t i o n to an unreinforced beam in bending

In order to study the a p p l i c a b i l i t y of the method the f o l l o w -
ing case has been analysed / 2 / .
An unreinforced concrete beam w i t h a constant rectangular cross-
section is loaded by a pure bending moment M according to Fig. 6. When
the bending moment reaches a value Mo the t e n s i l e stress in the bottom
f i b r e reaches f t - As we assume t h a t the concrete cannot take higher
t e n s i l e stresses than f t , cracks w i l l form and s t a r t opening when M is
increased above Mo. We w i l l now study how these cracks grow when the
bending moment increases. In order to s i m p l i f y the c a l c u l a t i o n s we
assume t h a t only one crack opens, and t h a t t h i s happens at the section
of symmetry.
The f i n i t e element mesh used f o r the c a l c u l a t i o n is shown in
Fig. 6. The bending moment M is applied as a couple of forces at the
778 Vol. 6, No. 6
A. H i l l e r b o r g , M. Mod#er, P-E. Petersson

C M

~
Fig. 6 Bent rectangu-
4J
42 l a r beam and
41
40 a corresponding
J9 FEM representa-
3'8
J7 tion
.16
35

33
32
3t

l e f t end of the beam. The crack i s assumed to open at the s e c t i o n to

the r i g h t , which is the s e c t i o n o f symmetry.
Mois the moment which gives ~31 = f t , where ~31 i s the s t r e s s
at p o i n t 31. Mo would be the f a i l u r e moment i f the material were e l a s -
t i c and p e r f e c t l y b r i t t l e . When M is raised above Mo the crack s t a r t s
opening at p o i n t 31. At t h a t p o i n t we i n t r o d u c e a force corresponding
to the r e l a t i o n between s t r e s s ~ and crack width w according to Fig.
4c. With t h i s new f i n i t e element system we can c a l c u l a t e the s t r e s s
at p o i n t 32 and we can determine t h a t value M = MI , which gives a
s t r e s s 032 : f t " We can now i n t r o d u c e another force at p o i n t 32 and
c a l c u l a t e a moment M = M2, g i v i n g 033 = f t etc. By proceeding in the
same way we get a r e l a t i o n between crack depth and applied moment
according to Fig. 7.

1,4

NIt

Mo
Fig. 7 Calculated bending moment
M versus crack depth

0 crack
i depth

i node
point

When the crack grows the corresponding bending moment reaches a

maximum value Mmax whereupon i t s t a r t s decreasing. As the maximum value
is reached the s t r u c t u r e becomes unstable i f M i s kept c o n s t a n t , and
i t f a i l s suddenly as the crack propagates.
The r e l a t i o n Mmax/Mo i s the same as the r e l a t i o n between ben-
ding s t r e n g t h and tensTTe s t r e n g t h , as Mo i s the moment which makes
the maximum bending s t r e s s in the uncracked section equal to the ten-
sile strength.
Vol. 6, No. 6 779
FRACTURE MECHANICS, ANALYSIS, CONCRETE

I t can be shown t h a t the behaviour of the beam depends on the

parameter H/I , where H is the beam depth and 1 is a c r i t i c a l length,
defined by c c
I c : EG/f~ (3)

As the r e a l t i o n
EGc = K2
C
holds for plain stress and approximately for plain s t r a i n , we may also
write 2
I c = (Kc/ft) (4)

Fig. 8 shows the r e s u l t s of the above analysis as well as of an

analysis where shrinkage s t r a i n s ~s according to Fig. 9 have been
taken i n t o account.

Bendin~ strength
Tensile strength
Fig. 8 Theoretical v a r i a -
t i o n of r a t i o be- 2,0 -
tween bending and
t e n s i l e strength !
with beam depth H
and I c = ( K c / f t ) ~ =

: EGc/f~ 1.5 J
.~oO t

1.0

~,E ~
T .a~ ~....~

0.5
c~ j
,, .....<
r
Fig. 9 Assumed d i s t r i -
bution of s h r i n k - o L
age s t r a i n s o 2 3 4 H/I c

I t must be remembered t h a t the r e s u l t s in Fig. 8 correspond

to a simple FEM model where only one crack is assumed to open, i n -
dependent of the stresses in the other parts of the beam. A more
r e a l i s t i c model with cracks opening in a l l places where f t is ex-
ceeded w i l l give somewhat d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t s with higher values of
Mmax/Mo, e s p e c i a l l y where shrinkage s t r a i n s are present.
780 Vol. 6, No. 6
A. H i l l e r b o r g , M. Mod~er, P-E. Petersson

Relative bending
strenq th

1,0 - e- : = ~ ,

Fig. I0 Test r e s u l t s of
bending s t r e n g t h
0.5 - - versus beam depth,
summarized by Mey-
er / 3 / , compared
to t h e o r e t i c a l cur-
ve f o r 1 = I00 nTn
C
0
0 100 200 300 500 H mm

Reag4t,WiHIs. 1931 768 Vat~@s

I KtLlermomn, 1932 2/, Va{ues

= W h r i g h t . C~rwood IO~Z 111 V~Lue$

O Nie{sen 195,~ 71 VattJeS

Lindner. Spra~uelg$5 120 VaLueJ

WaLker ~ [ O l m 1957 ~ VQI~es

Meyer 1963 ~8 V a L u e s

o wOt
o dried O.O0"J'~ * H 2 P,~urs
~' drded O,OtS. H 2 h ~ r s

Relative bending [ gs% confidence ktt4r~l

stren( th

1,5

I Fig. I I Test r e s u l t s o f
I
i i
,.o bending s t r e n g t h
versus beam depth
f o r one q u a l i t y
o f concrete, tested
wet and d r i e d in
45% RH, compared to
o, b L
t h e o r e t i c a l curves
f o r 1 = I00 mm
C

, 1 i"

o
!
i ! II-
loo 2OO 300 H mm
Vol. 6, No. 6 781
FRACTURE MECHANICS, ANALYSIS, CONCRETE

Fig. I0 shows a comparison between theoretical values according

to Fig. 8 and test results summarized by Mayer / 3 / . The theoretical
curve is shown for I c = EGc/f ~ : I0 000"0.01 = I00 mm, corresponding
to the values used in Fig. 5. I t has been assumed that there is no
shrinkage.
Fig. 11 shows a comparison between theoretical values according
to Fig. 8 and our own test results. Regarding the influence of shrink-
age i t must be noticed that the t e s t specimen had a square cross-sec-
t i o n , drying in all d i r e c t i o n s , whereas the theoretical curve is valid
for a specimen drying only upwards and downwards, and that creep was
not taken into account in the calculations.
In spite of i t s s i m p l i f i c a t i o n , the model seems to be able to
explain the test results.

Conclusion
The proposed method of combining fracture mechanics and f i n i t e
element analysis seems to y i e l d r e a l i s t i c results regarding crack f o r -
mation and propagation as well as regarding f a i l u r e even i f a coarse
element mesh is used. This opens up the p o s s i b i l i t y of studying comp-
licated problems with a limited amount of computer work.

References

/I/ Welch, G B and Haisman, B "Fracture toughness measurements

of concrete," University of New South Wales, Sydney, A u s t r a l i a ,
Uniciv. Report No R 42, January 1969.

/2/ Petersson, P-E and Mod~er, M "Model based on fracture mechanics

for the calculation of crack propagation in concrete," (in Swe-
dish with English summary), Division of Building Technology, Lund
I n s t i t u t e of Technology, Sweden, Report No 70, 1976.

/3/ Mayer, H "Die Berechnung von Durchbiegung von Stahlbetongbau-

t e i l e n , " Deutscher Ausschuss fur Stahlbetong, H 194, W Ernst
& Sohn, Berlin, 1967.

/4/ Evans, P H and Marathe, M S "Microcracking and s t r e s s - s t r a i n

curves for concrete in tension," Materials and Structures (RILEM),
No I , pp 61 - 64, 1968.

151 Salah EI-Din, A S and EI-Adawy Nassef, M M "A modified approach

for estimating the cracking moment of reinforced concrete beams,"
ACl Journal No 7, July 1975, pp 356 - 360.