An investigation into a hypothetical deformation and failure mechanism for concrete

Measurements were made of the deformations of materials, consisting of a hard component within a softer matrix, in order to test the assumption of “thrustring effect” used in the derivation of the lattice analogy for concrete. This effect is found to be present together with “internal restraint”. Poisson's ratio was measured for a variety of mixes, and this enables lattice proportions to represent the mixes to be selected. The lattice model is extended into three dimensions and reasonable agreement is obtained between the lattice and actual concrete behaviour for the cases considered.