What kind of interaction /contact can be used for the simulation of the gradual casting of a concrete for a dam construction? I mean the lift casting in the roller compacted concrete dam construction?
Is cohesive interaction the right one for this?
Dear Mr. Andic,
I see several approaches in this case:
1. The simplest approach is to use model change and ties between elements and just let the constitutive model for concrete do its trick. Otherwise you risk forcing the failure through the interaction elements or on the contrary out of them.
2. A fancier approach is to model the concrete as a fluid, using its Equation of State and then, by playing with a virtual temperature, to do a phase change "freezing" the material into solid state. In this case the analysis is CFD type so the geometry approximation has its limitations.
3. Define a SOLID material that has at 1 degree the properties of concrete and at 0 degrees the properties of "nothing" (e.g density - very small, elasticity - very very very large, strength - very very very very large, thermal expansion coefficient - zero, specific heat - doesn't matter, thermal conductivity - doesn't matter). In this case, you slide a temperature front from bottom to the top form 1 degrees to the part "built" and 0 for "not yet built". I would strongly recommend this approach which worked for me on several occasions.
Best regards
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