Xiaoying Zhuang^2,3, Hung Nguyen-Xuan^4,5, Shuai Zhou^1,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.67, No.1, pp. 577-593, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2021.014688

Abstract The microcapsule-contained self-healing materials are appealing since they can heal the cracks automatically and be effective for a long time. Although many experiments have been carried out, the influence of the size of microcapsules on the self-healing effect is still not well investigated. This study uses the two-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) to investigate the interaction between one microcapsule and one microcrack. The influence of the size of microcapsules is considered. The potential healing time and the influence of the initial damage are studied. The results indicate that the coalescence crack is affected by the size of holes. The elastic… More >

Shuai Zhou^3,4, Xiaoying Zhuang^1,2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.57, No.3, pp. 417-446, 2018, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2018.01742

Abstract The microcapsule-enabled cementitious material is an appealing building material and it has been attracting increasing research interest. By considering microcapsules as dissimilar inclusions in the material, this paper employs the discrete element method (DEM) to study the effects of loading rates on the fracturing behavior of cementitious specimens containing the inclusion and the crack. The numerical model was first developed and validated based on experimental results. It is then used to systematically study the initiation, the propagation and the coalescence of cracks in inclusion-enabled cementitious materials. The study reveals that the crack propagation speed, the first crack initiation stress, the… More >