Quantitative characterization of damage-aggravation effect caused by progressive damage

Aiming at the progressive damage phenomenon in geotechnical field, it attempts to study the effect of progressive damage on the macro-bearing capacity. Firstly, based on the theoretical analysis of a two-dimensional plane inside representative volume element, it is proposed that progressive damage will occur if the bearing capacity of microplanes is different. Besides, “damage-aggravation effect” is proposed according to the difference between the macro-bearing capacity of entire plane and the sum of bearing capacity of all microplanes when progressive damage occurs. Secondly, progressive damage ratio K t is proposed to quantify “damage-aggravation effect”. Finally, based on the rod model, the correspondence between K t and some influence factors is studied by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The results show that “damage-aggravation effect” does exist, and the macro-bearing capacity of entire plane is less than the sum of bearing capacity of all microplanes when progressive damage occurs. If the bearing capacity of rods in the rod model obeys uniform distribution, as the minimum of bearing capacity increases linearly, the macro-bearing capacity increases linearly, and K t decreases inversely. Graphic abstract