A multiscale model for predicting damage evolution in heterogeneous viscoelastic media

A multiple scale theory is developed for the prediction of damage evolution in heterogeneous viscoelastic media. Asymptotic expansions of the field variables are used to derive a global scale viscoelastic constitutive equation that includes the effects of local scale damage. Damage, in the form discrete cracks, is allowed to grow according to a micromechanically-based viscoelastic traction-displacement law. Finite element formulations have been developed for both the global and local scale problems. These formulations have been implemented into a two-scale computational model. Numerical results are given for several example problems in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique.