Micromechanical modelling of strain hardening and tension softening in cementitious composites (Q5906818)

First, the authors discuss the mathematical details for solving the title problem for doubly periodic arrays of cracks when the cracks are free of traction and when they are subjected to a closure pressure. The solution is based on pseudo-traction formalism, but superposition procedure makes use of the exact solution for an array (or row) of cracks, thus avoiding divergent double infinite summations. The authors show that their result for unbridged crack arrays is identical to those reported in the literature and obtained by boundary collocation method. The solutions presented are applied to the study of the influence of microstructure on complete macroscopic tensile response of conventional fiber-reinforced cementitious composites, including strain hardening and tension softening.