Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials

Abstract The low tensile strength characteristics of cement-based materials are the biggest defect restricting their use. Understanding the mechanisms behind tensile cracking shows great significance in guiding the design of cement-based materials and their structures. Hence, a semi-analytical solut...

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Main Authors: Yong-Kang Hou, Shu-Jin Duan, Rui-Mei An, Xin-Yue Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15044-2
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author Yong-Kang Hou
Shu-Jin Duan
Rui-Mei An
Xin-Yue Wang
author_facet Yong-Kang Hou
Shu-Jin Duan
Rui-Mei An
Xin-Yue Wang
author_sort Yong-Kang Hou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The low tensile strength characteristics of cement-based materials are the biggest defect restricting their use. Understanding the mechanisms behind tensile cracking shows great significance in guiding the design of cement-based materials and their structures. Hence, a semi-analytical solution of the cohesive zone model (CZM) was developed to describe the failure mode of cement-based materials. This study used the boundary collocation method to obtain the linear elastic solution of stress function that satisfies the boundary conditions, on the basis of the Williams stress function. Subsequently, the semi-analytic solution of CZM was proposed through the weighted integral method by combining CZM and the bonding zone (CZ), and crack opening displacement (COD) obtained from wedge-splitting tests. Finally, the distribution of cohesion and COD were obtained. The results indicated that the COD obtained from CZM showed great agreement with the COD obtained from the tests, with a maximal error of 15.5%. Meanwhile, the cohesion at the CZ tip in CZM has an error of 2.1% compared to the tensile strength of cement-based materials obtained from experiments. These results indicate the high accuracy of proposed CZM in describing the failure of cement-based materials. A new method is proposed to determine the analytical solution of cohesive zone model based on the stress function of fracture specimen and the measurable fracture test data.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
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publishDate 2025-08-01
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spelling doaj-art-2440ffbcca9d49ec86e2764950251dba2025-08-24T11:26:35ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111510.1038/s41598-025-15044-2Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materialsYong-Kang Hou0Shu-Jin Duan1Rui-Mei An2Xin-Yue Wang3School of Urban Geology and Engineering, Hebei GEO UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Tianjin UniversityAbstract The low tensile strength characteristics of cement-based materials are the biggest defect restricting their use. Understanding the mechanisms behind tensile cracking shows great significance in guiding the design of cement-based materials and their structures. Hence, a semi-analytical solution of the cohesive zone model (CZM) was developed to describe the failure mode of cement-based materials. This study used the boundary collocation method to obtain the linear elastic solution of stress function that satisfies the boundary conditions, on the basis of the Williams stress function. Subsequently, the semi-analytic solution of CZM was proposed through the weighted integral method by combining CZM and the bonding zone (CZ), and crack opening displacement (COD) obtained from wedge-splitting tests. Finally, the distribution of cohesion and COD were obtained. The results indicated that the COD obtained from CZM showed great agreement with the COD obtained from the tests, with a maximal error of 15.5%. Meanwhile, the cohesion at the CZ tip in CZM has an error of 2.1% compared to the tensile strength of cement-based materials obtained from experiments. These results indicate the high accuracy of proposed CZM in describing the failure of cement-based materials. A new method is proposed to determine the analytical solution of cohesive zone model based on the stress function of fracture specimen and the measurable fracture test data.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15044-2Cement-based materialsTensile failureCohesive zone model
spellingShingle Yong-Kang Hou
Shu-Jin Duan
Rui-Mei An
Xin-Yue Wang
Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
Scientific Reports
Cement-based materials
Tensile failure
Cohesive zone model
title Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
title_full Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
title_fullStr Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
title_full_unstemmed Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
title_short Semi-analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement-based materials
title_sort semi analytical solution of cohesive zone model for cement based materials
topic Cement-based materials
Tensile failure
Cohesive zone model
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15044-2
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AT shujinduan semianalyticalsolutionofcohesivezonemodelforcementbasedmaterials
AT ruimeian semianalyticalsolutionofcohesivezonemodelforcementbasedmaterials
AT xinyuewang semianalyticalsolutionofcohesivezonemodelforcementbasedmaterials