ABSTRACT
Continuum damage mechanics was a part of fracture mechanics at its early stage, but later developed into an independent branch within the framework of solid mechanics. With fracture mechanics, it jointly forms failure mechanics in a wide range of academic domains. This chapter introduces the fundamental concept and principles of continuum damage
mechanics. This introduction is followed by the typical models used in the analysis of geomechanics. The numerical scheme for the calculation of the damage model is also introduced in detail through a typical example.
