ABSTRACT
Abstract The softening function is the main input needed to model fracture of concrete when using a cohesive crack approach. The influence of different aspects of the softening function on the structural response are analyzed to show that four parameters are needed to describe reasonably well the softening function: the tensile strength ft, the specific fracture energy Gp, and two more parameters characterizing the shape of this function. A recently developed method to determine the four parameters from stable tests on notched specimens and simple fitting procedures is outlined and discussed. Keywords: Concrete, Cohesive Crack, Softening Function, Fracture Energy.
