Numerical analysis of effect of micro-cracking and selfhealing on the long-term creep of cementitious materials

In order to gain a better understanding of the interaction between creep and micro-cracking during long-term creep process, a theoretical study was performed. An existing lattice model was modified to take creep into account. Based on the model, the micro-cracking in the creep process was simulated on a three-phase concrete sample under sustained compressive load (30% of compressive strength). The effect of on-going hydration and self-healing were considered in this process and inserted in the modified lattice model. This paper contains preliminary results of numerical simulations of an on-going study. The results show that continuous micro-cracking contributes to an extra deformation and degradation of mechanical properties, even though the on-going hydration is involved. The effect of self-healing in the damage zone leads to a decrease in the extra deformation and also to the recovery of the compressive strength and elastic modulus.