Simulation of reinforced concrete cutting based on SPH method

Abstract

Reinforced concrete structure has been widely applied in modern society, while its cutting process is very complicated. To solve the inaccurate problem due to grid deformation in conventional finite element method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) particle algorithm was adopted to simulate the cutting and breaking processes of reinforced concrete by diamond abrasive particle. According to their possible protrusion states of diamonds on tools’ working surface, diamonds were simplified as square and circular abrasives respectively. Then, the abrasives performed surface cutting on steel, concrete, and different combinations of reinforced concrete materials at a cutting speed of 0.45 mm/ms and a cutting depth of 0.1 mm. The morphological characteristics of cutting chips, the morphological change of the working pieces surface after cutting, the change of crack extension within the working pieces, as well as the stress change on the cutting surface of two kinds of abrasives were analyzed. The simulation results indicate that the SPH method can simulate the crack propagation, the chip formation and the materials separation during the cutting process. The intermittent impact on abrasives in the cutting process will preferentially destroy the connection between the two materials which can be gradually separated to each other. Besides, in the surface cutting type of square abrasive there can form a larger broken area than that in the point cutting type of circular abrasive.

Keywords

• reinforced concrete
• numerical simulation
• smoothed particle hydrodynamics
• diamond
• cutting process