A robust and efficient constitutive law to describe the response of quasi-brittle materials subjected to shear-dominated cyclic loading formulation, identification and applications

International audienceIn this paper, a new constitutive law aiming at describing the quasi-brittle behavior when subjected to cyclic loading is presented. The proposed model is formulated within the framework of isotropic continuum damage mechanics. The Cauchy stress tensor is split into two contributions one related to the matrix (without cracks) behavior the other related to the crack behavior. This strategy allows accounting for both the crack closure effect and the hysteretic effect in an efficient way making possible large-scale computations. In addition, a specific attention is paid to the way of identifying the material parameters, often requiring complex experimental tests not always easy to carry out. A virtual testing approach based on the use of a discrete element model is used for this purpose