Dr.-Ing. Tuanny Cajuhi
Fracture in porous media: modeling and experiments
Porous media are widely applied in civil engineering and environmental geomechanics, e.g. soils, rocks and cement-based materials used in dams or embankments. The latter are constituted of a solid skeleton and pores or voids filled with fluids such as air or water. Flow and transport in the pore network can cause deformation of the solid skeleton and eventually lead to fracture. Fracture phenomena (e.g. due to drying) in porous media can be explained by considering the material as an elastic continuum where the energy release is responsible for cracking. On the other hand, one can consider the microstructural characteristics of the water bridges between the solid grains of the material. Both approaches are interdependent, i.e. not only the mechanical part but also the hydrodynamics of the system must be investigated.
The first project phase (doctoral) aimed at the formulation and the investigation of shrinkage-induced cracking in partially saturated porous media using the poromechanical and phase-field modeling approaches. The numerical results were compared with the experimental data available in the literature or obtained through collaboration with experimental groups. The numerical results have shown good agreement with the experimental data.
The current project phase concentrates on understanding and modeling of the influence of temperature, chemical processes and creep to complement the modeling framework. Further solution schemes and adaptive mesh refinement will be implemented and tested. Moreover, we are interested in the experimental/numerical investigation of the interaction between water content and cracking in different materials and configurations.
Research interests:
Coupled problems, cracking, shrinkage-induced cracking in porous media, phase-field modeling, numerical simulation and experimental validation.
Publications within the framework of the RTG:
Doctoral thesis:
T. Cajuhi. Fracture in porous media: phase-field modeling, simulation and experimental validation.
Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals:
T. Cajuhi, L. Sanavia and L. De Lorenzis. Phase-field modeling of fracture in variably saturated porous media. Computational Mechanics 61(3), 2018.[ DOI ]
Conference contribution with publication in conference proceedings:
T. Cajuhi, P. Lura and L. De Lorenzis. Phase-field modeling of shrinkage cracks in cement-based materials. Proceedings of the 2nd International RILEM/COST Conference on Early Age cracking, 2017.
T. Cajuhi, P. Lura and L. De Lorenzis Preliminary calibration of a phase-field model for cracks due to shrinkage in cement-based materials. Proceedings of the 7th GACM, 2017.
Conference contribution without publication in conference proceedings:
Phase-field modeling of fracture in partially saturated porous media. ECCOMAS, Kreta, Griechenland, 2016.
Phase-field modeling of fracture in partially saturated porous media. 9th International Conference on Porous Media, Rotterdam, Niederlande, 2017.
Phase-field modeling of fracture in partially saturated porous media. GAMM Conference, Weimar, Deutschland, 2017.
Phase-field modeling of fracture in partially saturated porous media. GAMM Conference - Young Researchers MS, München, Deutschland, 2018.