Size effect on strength and fracture energy for numerical concrete with realistic aggregate shapes

Fracture of concrete at the scale of the aggregate structure (or smaller) is a complicated process. Simple simulation models may be of help in understanding fracture in more detail, provided that the material structure is incorporated in as much detail as possible. A combined approach using computed tomography and image processing allows us to model concrete close to reality. The shape of the aggregates is included in a 3D beam lattice model for fracture. Fracture of concrete beams is simulated under 3-point bending with different sizes, aggregate densities and aggregates shapes, focusing on the size effect on structural strength and fracture energ