Predictions of cumulative damage

for concrete and reinforced concrete

S. P. Shah
Professor of Civil Engineering,NorthwesternUniversity,Evanston, Illinois60201 USA.

Nonlinear damage evolution equation is suggested to predict fatigue life of plain concrete
subjected to sequential, constant amplitude loading. This approach seems to eliminate the
nonconservative aspect of the linear damage law (the Miner hypothesis) and is based on the
observed shape of the damage growth relationship. For serviceability based design of
reinforced concrete structures, a simple nonlinear relationship is developed to relate the
increases in deflection and crack width with the cycle-ratio. The results compare favorably
with experimental data.

INTRODUCTION In addition to designing structures against fatigue

When concrete structures are subjected to fatigue
loading, progressive damage occurs with increasing
number of cycles. The fatigue damage is a consequence
of increasing internal cracking in concrete and in steel.
If the range of stress and number of cycles are sufficien-
tly large, then the failure of the structure may occur.
The failure of the structure may be a result of fatigue
failure of concrete or of steel. Since the ultimate static
strength of concrete structures are usually calculated
neglecting the tensile strength of concrete, for predic-
ting failure loads of structures subjected to fatigue
loading, the fatigue strength of plain concrete subjected
to uniaxial compression, and the reinforcing steel subjec-
ted to uniaxial tension are the most important design
parameters.
To obtain fatigue strength of plain concrete in
uniaxial compression, S-N curves are determined by
subjecting specimens to a constant amplitude fatigue
loading. In reality, however, both the amplitude and
frequency of cyclic loading can vary during the lifetime
of a structure. Methods have been developed to express
a randomly variable amplitude loading in terms of a
sequential series of constant amplitude (whose value
can vary from series to series) loading. It is then possi-
ble to calculate fatigue strength for concrete subjected
to a sequential series o f constant amplitude loadings
from the S-N curve obtained from constant amplitude
tests by using the Miner (also termed Palmgren-Miner)
hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, if the fatigue
loading consists of a set of constant amplitude loadings,
such that stress (range) level S~ is applied for N~ cycles,
then the specimen will fail when:
F,N~' =1,
where N:~ is the number of cycles to failure under a
constant amplitude St. Although this linear cumulative
damage hypothesis is simple, it is not always conserva-
tive. An alternate nonlinear cumulative damage hypo-
thesis is proposed in this paper.
failure, it may also be necessary to account for increase
in deflections and crack width due to fatigue loading.
Increase in deflection and crack widths under (mode-
rate intensity) fatigue loading is due to several causes
including (1) dynamic creep of concrete, (2) progressive
debonding between reinforcing steel and concrete and
(3) progressive cracking of concrete in the tension zone.
A method to calculate the increased deflection and
crack width based on the creep characteristics of
concrete, the tensile fatigue strength of concrete and
tensile stiffening contribution of concrete has recently
been developed ([1], [2], [3]). An approach based on a
nonlinear damage evolution is proposed here.
PREDICTION OF CUMULATIVEDAMAGEIN CONCRETE
For many engineering design problems it is convie-
nient to define a damage parameter D as an internal
state variable. The value of D = 0 and D = 1 refer respec-
tively to the undamaged and failure state. Such a defini-
tion of damage ignores the details and damage process
and has been used for lifetime predictions under creep
as well as fatigue loading of metals [4]. If it is assumed
that internal damage (D) linearly increases with increa-
sing number of cycles and that the rate of increase of
damage is only a function of. ratio xi where xi = NJNri,
then the Miner's law results (fig. 1) :
D =x,
~Di=l,
~ x - Ni 1.
i-Nfi~
It is also possible to use a stress dependent nonlinear
damage evolution relationships as shown in figure 2.
If damage D is considered a unique internal state varia-
ble, then it can be easily seen that under two-level (S t,
$2) sequential stress controlled fatigue test, the sum of
initial life ratio (N1/N:I) and the remaining life ratio
(NE/N:2) will be different than unity (fig. 2).

0025-5432/1984/65/$ 5.00/9 BORDAS-DUNOD 65

 Vol. 17 - N ~ 97 - Mat~riaux et Constructions

1.00 1.0(

~Dt = I
D2 =
T.Xi = I
0.75 0.75
S'

0.50 - 9
0.5C
0
0 E
E
0
0

|| 11
~ 025 025__
_ N,/Nf, ~I /I N2
DI N2/Nf2
F r
/ ,i I I 0
0 O. 25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.00
X = N/Nf X=N/Nf
Fig. 1. - Linear Miner's law.
Fig. 2. - Nonlinear stress dependent damage evolution.

It should be noted that recently attempts are being

made to derive constitutive relationship of materials
using the concept of damage as an internal state varia-
ble. For example, Suaris and Shah have extended the Percenlage of Fatigue Life
concepts of the continuous damage theory to predict
2.0 40 60 80 I00
strain rate effects for concrete subjected to impact loa-
ding ([5], [6]).

EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENTS OF DAMAGE ~ V_2ooo_

It has been established that the primary mechanism Micro From Shah and MA~ ~-~
Strain
of damage in concrete subjected to fatigue type of
loading is the growth of internal microcracks ([7] to
[10]). However, because of the heterogeneous nature of
concrete, precise quantitative measurements of rate of
-4000-

S t r a i n (8 v )
\
1
crack growth with number of cycles have not been yet
successful. Thus, it is not possible for concrete to pre-
- "~l... ~ ~ ..Z~ATT
dict fatigue life by relating the rate of crack growth -I0O0.
with number of cycles using the concept of fracture and Ch dr%_/
mechanics as it has been for metals. Creep failure of ~AMP
~.)
concrete is also shown to be due to progressive internal -2000-
microcracking ([7], [8]). If the quantitative measurement (b) Changes in Attenuation
and the crack growth can be expressed as life-time ratio of Ultrasonic Pulses 9
and cycle ratio, then it might be possible to use the
cumulative damage concept to combine time effects F-l~rcentageof Fatigue L~fe
(rate of loading) and cyclic effects to predict failure. 20 40 60 BO tOO

In addition to the measurement of crack growth, P P ~ e e

other parameters which have been used to characterize
damage include: volumetric strain (fig. 3), attenuation / I o.7,7~,%.'~k
F:9.933 V o~
and velocity of ultrasonic pulse (fig. 3), acoustic emis- 4~ tc) Changes tn
sion, axial strain and secant modulus of elasticity. All g Itrmlonir Pulse
of these parameters clearly indicate that the increase ~- .6C :ILL. , Velocity
of damage with cyclic loading is highly nonlinear. Thus,
- { ......3-
one of the basic assumptions of Miner's hypothesis is
E
not valid for concrete. - T~T~om o - Groug-5
Bennett .--Group-I
and Reju
A nonlinear damage law
Based on a large number of experimental data [11],
there appear to be three stages of the growth of damage Fig. 3. - E x p e r i m e n t a l l y measureddamage evolution.

66
 S. P. Shah

1.00 approach can eliminate the nonconservative aspect of

the linear Miner's law. It should be pointed out that
Dama~ Equation / the proposed nonlinear equation was more conservative
D = ax 3 + bx + cx than the linear law for prediction of the test results of
Cumulative Damage Reference 12 when St > S 2.
0.75
Law ~,e
3 2 = l
C"
O PREICTION OF DEFLECTIONS AND CRACK WIDTH
E
0.50
r~

A To predict increases in deflections and crack widths

0.25
0 I , I
0 O. 25 0.50 ~.
N~ x=~;
X = ~
NfI
l~g. 4. - Nonlinear Miner's law.
when concrete is subjected to cyclic loading (fig. 4) :
(1) first stage where the rate of increase of damage
decreases (2) second stage where the rate of damage is
essentielly constant and (3) a third stage Where the rate
of damage increases. To account for this characteristic
damage growth a following damage evolution equation
was developed:
D = ax 3 + bx 2 + cx.
The constants a, b, and c, can be determined from the
following three conditions: (1) D = 1 when x = 1; (2) at
x=~, dO/dx=tan 0 and (e) at x=~, d2D/dx2=O. Note
that the curve is determined solely from the values of
0 and ~ at the inflection point. These two "materials
parameters" can be expressed as functions of stress-
range and/or rate of loading. For simplicity and since
not enough information is available, (see also pulse
velocity measurements for two different stress levels in
under fatigue loading, the following nonlinear damage
evolution equation is proposed [13]:
8Y
--=eB=-l, (3)
Y
I
0.75 1-00
where 8Y is the increase in deflection (or crack width),
Y is the corresponding magnitude of deflection (or
crack width) under first half cycle of loading, B is a
constant which in general depends on the stress range
(S) and x is the cycle ratio N / N f. This equation is
based on available experimental data on singly-
reinforced concrete beams subjected to nonreversed
cyclic loading which fail by fatigue failure of reinforcing
steel ([14], [15]). The equation does not consider the
deflection values very near the failure (last 5 % of fati-
gue life) since reliable experimental results just prior to
fatigue failure are not available. The equation is proba-
bly also not very accurate during the very early fatigue
(1) life (Stage I). However, the equation adequately covers
the range of interest for serviceability design of rein-
forced concrete structures.
Comparison with experimental data [13], indicated
that for a range of loading for which N I > . 3 to .5 x 10 6
cycles, the value of B is independent of range of steel
stress. This value was 0.667 and 1.670 respectively for
1.00 Nonlinear Miner's Law
'\
/

figure 3), it was assumed that the damage evolution ~'~~ [ D i=i = 1.14(Xl+X2)-2.4(Xl+X2)+2.26
3 3 2 2 (xI + x 2)
depends only on cycle ratio. In that case, the cumulative / "\
damage law can be expressed as: 0.75
'%% ~ = 0.7 @ = 30 ~
O,=a~x~+b~x2+c~x,=l. (2) Linear Miner's Law
s q
\
\
9 \\~D
\i
= i = + x~z = 1
To examine the validity of this approach, the predic- Z~0.50
ted failure values were compared with experimental , \
ii ~X~ \\ 9 Datafrom
data of Hilsdorf and Kesler [12]. They subjected X ~e \\ Hilsdorf and
concrete specimens to fatigue loading in flexure. To 9 ~ \,,\ Kesler
examine the applicability of the Miner hypothesis, they
0.25
failed their beam specimen by subjecting them to a 9 ~ \k\
sequence of constant amplitude loadings: S 1 and S 2. o~.... \\\
They observed that when $1 was less than S 2, the sum
of N1/Ns, and N2/Ny2 was less than 1, indicating that I I I
the Miner hypothesis in this case was unconservative 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
(fig. 5). A similar observation has also been reported XI = Nj/Nf I
by Holmen [11]. In figure 5, the experimental data
are compared with the suggested nonlinear cumulative Fig. 5. - Application of the Nonlinear Damage law
damage law (equation 2) and it seems that this to the Sequential constant amplitude loading.

67
Vol. 17 - N* 97 - MatSriaux et Constructions

[2] BALAGURU P. N., NAAMAN A. E., SHAH S. P, -- Fatigue

O Experimental
behavior offerrocement beams, J. ASCE-STD, July 1979,
Predicted ~ 2" pp. 1333-1346.
[3] BALAGURU 13. N . , SHAH S. P. -- Serviceability offerroce-
IIIIIIIIl~<d[lll I ~ I IrlIIIIIIIItlllll V~ ~ / I I ment subjected to flexural fatigue, Intl. J. of Cement
Composites, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 1979, pp. 3-9.
....... ,, ................. I I'~176 [4] CHABOCHE J. L. -- Lifetime predictions and cumulative
s ~ e oad bot t o ~ ~ v e r fo 2 m~ g.a~-3 111/2~
- -
damage under high-temperature conditions, Low Cycle
Fatigue and Life Predictions, ASTM STP770, C. Amzal-
t2 lag, B. N. Leis, P. Rabbe, Ed., 1982, pp. 81-104.
tJ
[5] SUARIS W . , SHAH S. P. -- A constitutive model for
concrete under dynamic loading, Proceedings of the
SMiRT7 Conference, Chicago, August 1983.
[6] SUAP~SW., SrtAHS. P. -- A strain rate dependent damage
sl_
~00 500 I000 2000 4000 5000 model for concrete, Proceedings, ASCE-EMD Specialty
Cycles x IO00 Conference, Purdue University, May 1983.
1.2 ~v
[7] SHAH S. P., CHANDRA S. -- Fracture of concrete subjected
Q Experimental tmml
to cyclic and sustained loading, ACI Journal, October
1970, pp. 816-824.
0.c" -- Predicted 3~5) -
[8] SHAH S. P., CHANDRA S. -- Mechanical behavior of
9

concrete examined by ultrasonic measurements, J. of Mate-

~-- O.E
- G
0
0.3
300 500
Cycles x I 0 0 0
Fig. 6. - Comparisonof experimental (Snowdon)
and predicted deflection and crack widths.
deflection and crack width. If a constant value of B is
assumed, then for sequential constant amplitude loa-
ding, the cumulative deflections and crack widths can
be calculated from:
z dY, = Z (eBx' - i).
The predictions of this equation were compared with
the data from Snowdon [16]. This seems to be the only
investigation where both deflections and crack width
were measured under sequential, consistant amplitude
fatigue loading. The comparison shown in figure 6
seems adequate.
REFERENCES
[1] BALAGURU P. N . , SHAH S. P. -- A m e t h o d of predicting
crack-widths and deflections for fatigue loading, ACI Spe-
cial Publication SP-75, Fatigue of Concrete structures,
S. P. Shah, Ed., 1982, pp. 153-177.
020) - rials, ASTM, Vol. 5, No. 3. September 1970, pp. 550-
563.
.ran) " [9] BENNEX'r E. W., RAJU N. K. -- Cumulative fatigue
damage of plain concrete in compression, Intl. Conference
i.olo ) -
on Structures, Solid Mechnanics and Engng. Dsg. in
Civil Engineering, University of Southampton, England,
I000 2000 40oo 5000 1969.
[10] AWAD M. E., HILSDORF H. K . -- S t r e n g t h and d e f o r m a -
tion characteristics of plain concrete subjected to high
repeated and sustained loads, ACI Special Publication
SP-41, Fatigue of Concrete, pp. 1-14, 1974.
[11] J. O. HOLMENJ. O. -- Fatigue of concrete by constant
and variable amplitude loading, ACI Special Publication
SP75, Fatigue of Concrete Structures, S. P. Shah, Ed.,
1982, pp. 71-110.
[12] HILSDORF H. K., KESLER C. E. -- Fatigue strength of
concrete under varying flexural load, ACI Journal, Proc.
Vol. 63, No. 10, October 1966, pp. 1059-1076.
(4) [13] BALAGURU P., NAAMAN A. E., SHAH S.. P. - Ferrocement
in bending, Part II: Fatigue analysis, Report to National
Science Foundation; NTIS PB272835, october 1977.
[14] ZIg E Mmzg Z. F., RIZKALLAS. H. -- Static and fatigue
tests of composite T-beams containing prestressed concrete
tension elements, J. PCI, Vol. 21, No. 6, November/De-
cember 1976, pp. 76-93.
[15] SKRUCANNY R., SIMOR J. -- Cracking of reinforced
concrete beams subjected to repeated loading, Proceedings
of an Interassociation Colloquium on Behavior in Ser-
vice of Concrete Structures, Contribution II-3-34, June
1975, Liege, Belgium, pp. 821-834.
[16] SNOWDONL. C. - The static and fatigue performance of
concrete beams with high strength deformed bars, Current
Paper No. CP7171, Building Research Station, Garston,
Watford, England, March 1971.

R~SUMg d~t~t~rioration (hypoth~se de Miner) et elle repose sur

la forme observde de la relation de croissance de la
PrSvisions de dSterioration cumulative du bSton et du ddtdrioration. Aux fins de calcul en relation avec l'apti-
bSton armS. - On sugg~re une dquation d'dvolution non tude au service des structures de b~ton armd, on a ddve-
lindaire de la d~tdrioration en rue de prddire la r~sistance lopp~ une simple relation non lindaire qui relie les augmen-
ultime en fatigue du bdton non armd soumis d u n charge- tations de fl~che et les largeurs de fissures avec le taux
ment sdquentiel d'amplitude constante. Cette approche de sollicitation cyclique. Les rdsultats se rapprochent des
parait dliminer l'aspect dissipatif de la Sol lindaire de donndes expdrimentales.

68