Concrete friction

[mmhh2024]

Hello everyone,

I would like some guidance on how to use Abaqus to model two concrete blocks in contact with each other.

I have already completed the geometry, where the roughness of each block is represented. However, I am unsure about the next steps.

1. What material model should I use?
2. What type of interaction should I define between the blocks if I don't have the friction coefficient and want to derive it from the simulation?
3. How can I simulate surface smoothing in Abaqus?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: The bottom block is fixed, while the top block (which is smaller) moves due to cyclic loading.

 

[FEA way]

Concrete can be modeled using various material models, including the specialized ones like CDP. But in this case, regular elasticity and plasticitg should be sufficient.

You can try with frictionless contact first and then compare the results with a simple model using different coefficients of friction.

To simulate the smoothing process, you could model the tools used for such tasks and do a small scale analysis. There are some research papers discussing topics like this, also in Abaqus.