Total-local consistency condition in a plastic-damage model for concrete

An outline description of a new plastic damage model for concrete is given. This model employs a damage (or contact) tensor generated from crack planes, each of which are formed when a damage criterion is satisfied. A key element of the model is a so-called Total-Local consistency condition which is used to ensure that both local and total constitutive relationships are simultaneously satisfied. The validity of the coupled equations, that arise from this condition and which relate local crack plane strains to the total recoverable strain tensor, is studied by examining the positive definiteness of the coupling matrix. The convergence properties of the Total Local consistency equations are examined using a finite element analysis example, in which the constitutive model, implemented in the finite element program LUSAS, is applied to the analysis of a double edge notched shear-tension test.