Modeling the effect of mesoscale randomness on concrete fracture

The random mesostructure of concrete has an important influence on the reliability and failure properties of the material. The objective of the proposed model is to create an efficient link between the mesostructure and the mechanical and damage behavior of concrete and related strain-softening materials. Three theoretical techniques comprise the model: cohesive debonding, the moving-window generalized method of cells, and a strain-softening finite element model. The model is calibrated with direct tension experiments geared towards isolating the mechanical behavior of the aggregate–mortar interface. The model makes a good prediction for the mechanical behavior of concrete in tension, particularly when randomness in the cohesive interface properties is taken into consideration.