Behavior of the Abaqus CDP model in simple stress states

In order to use the Abaqus Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) material model in simulations of reinforced concrete structures, one has to understand the effect of various parameters of the material model. Although most of the material parameters can be determined from standard concrete tests, some parameters need more advanced tests to be determined. In impact simulations one often has only limited material data available, and it makes therefore sense to study the parameter sensitivity of the material model in order to fix realistic parameter values. In this paper, the sensitivity of the simulation response with respect to two model parameters is studied: the dilation angle and the tensile to compressive meridian ratio. The sensitivity study is performed in three simple but representative stress states: the uniaxial tension state, the confined uniaxial compressive state and the pure shear state. Finally, it is discussed how these simple stress states relate to the element removal criteria, which is necessary in simulations involving fragmentation.