• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.569-582
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• 2018

Effects of crack separation, bridge area, on the tensile behaviour of concrete are studied experimentally and numerically through the Brazilian tensile test. The physical data obtained from the Brazilian tests are used to calibrate the two-dimensional particle flow code based on discrete element method (DEM). Then some specially designed Brazilian disc specimens containing two parallel cracks are used to perform the physical tests in the laboratory and numerically simulated to make the suitable numerical models to be tested. The experimental and numerical results of the Brazilian disc specimens are compared to conclude the validity and applicability of these models used in this research. Validation of the simulated models can be easily checked with the results of Brazilian tests performed on non-persistent cracked physical models. The Brazilian discs used in this work have a diameter of 54 mm and contain two parallel centred cracks ($90^{\circ}$ to the horizontal) loaded indirectly under the compressive line loading. The lengths of cracks are considered as; 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm and 40 mm, respectively. The visually observed failure process gained through numerical Brazilian tests are found to be very similar to those obtained through the experimental tests. The fracture patterns demonstrated by DEM simulations are mostly affected by the crack separation but the tensile strength of bridge area is related to the fracture pattern and failure mechanism of the testing samples. It has also been shown that when the crack lengths are less than 30 mm, the tensile cracks may initiate from the cracks tips and propagate parallel to loading direction till coalesce with the other cracks tips while when the cracks lengths are more than 30 mm, these tensile cracks may propagate through the intact concrete itself rather than that of the bridge area.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.362-371
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• 2013

We conducted hollow cylinder tensile strength tests and Brazilian tests in Seokmo granite to measure tensile strength necessary for estimating the magnitude of the maximum horizontal principal stress in hydraulic fracturing stress measurements. Two different pressurization rates were used in hollow cylinder tests. Tensile strengths were determined to be higher at higher pressurization rate, which suggests that tensile strength should be measurement at the same rate used in actual in situ hydraulic fracturing tests. Considering the effect of pressurization rate and specimen size on tensile strength, the hollow cylinder tests and Brazilian tests yield similar results each other. This demonstrates that Brazilian tests can be utilized to produce representative tensile strengths for interpretation of hydraulic fracturing test results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.353-360
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• 2019

The elastic modulus is an important parameter to characterize the property of rock. It is common knowledge that the strengths of rocks are significantly different under tension and compression. However, little attention has been paid to the bi-modularity of rock. To validate whether the rock elastic moduli in tension and compression are the same, Brazilian disc, direct tension and compression tests were conducted. A horizontal laser displacement meter and a pair of vertical and transverse strain gauges were applied. Four types of materials were tested, including three types of rock materials and one type of steel material. A comprehensive comparison of the elastic moduli based on different experimental results was presented, and a tension-compression anisotropy model was proposed to explain the experimental results. The results from this study indicate that the rock elastic modulus is different under tension and compression. The ratio of the rock elastic moduli under compression and tension ranges from 2 to 4. The rock tensile moduli from the strain data and displacement data are approximate. The elastic moduli from the Brazilian disc test are consistent with those from the uniaxial tension and compression tests. The Brazilian disc test is a convenient method for estimating the tensile and compressive moduli of rock materials.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.65-76
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• 2009

Little attention has been paid to Brazilian test for the estimation of uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of rocks as an indirect method despite high availability of civil engineering parameters. This paper employed Brazilian test value to estimate two parameters of igneous rocks (granite, andesite, rhyolite) of Korea. High reliability of Brazilian test has been supported by the conclusions drawn from point load test and Schmidt hammer strike values. It has also been found that this method can be applied easily and rapidly to the estimation of uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of rock cores when direct tests are not available.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.349-358
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• 2021

The Brazilian test has been widely used to determine the indirect tensile strength of rock, concrete and other brittle materials. The basic assumption for the calculation formula of Brazilian tensile strength is that the elastic moduli of rock are the same both in tension and compression. However, the fact is that the elastic moduli in tension and compression of most rocks are different. Thus, the formula of Brazilian tensile strength under the assumption of isotropy is unreasonable. In the present study, we conducted Brazilian tests on flat disk-shaped rock specimens and attached strain gauges at the center of the disc to measure the strains of rock. A tension-compression bi-modular model is proposed to interpret the data of the Brazilian test. The relations between the principal strains, principal stresses and the ratio of the compressive modulus to tensile modulus at the disc center are established. Thus, the tensile and compressive moduli as well as the correct tensile strength can be estimated simultaneously by the new formulas. It is found that the tensile and compressive moduli obtained using these formulas were in well agreement with the values obtained from the direct tension and compression tests. The formulas deduced from the Brazilian test based on the assumption of isotropy overestimated the tensile strength and tensile modulus and underestimated the compressive modulus. This work provides a new methodology to estimate tensile strength and moduli of rock simultaneously considering tension-compression bi-modularity.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2020

In this study the split ring (SR) test was investigated for its applicability to the measurement of the tensile strength of rock specimen of NX size. The concept of the SR test is the same as the half ring (HR) test (Choi et al., 2019) except that the expected fracture plane is perpendicular to the loading direction. Because of this perpendicularity, however, it was believed that the SR test could be more accurate than the HR test. Like the HR specimen, the SR specimen is a curved prismatic bar with a uniform section. Appealing to a basic bending theory in strength of materials, the tensile strength for the special bar can be calculated analytically. Numerical simulations using LS-DYNA revealed, as expected, that the strength errors were 1% and 5% for the tensional and compressional SR tests, respectively, which were much lower than that (12%) of the HR test. To identify the performance of the two SR tests, laboratory experiments were conducted. The HR and Brazilian tests were also performed for comparison. The experiments showed that the ratios of the tensional and compressional SR to Brazilian strengths were 1.2~1.4 and 1.1~1.2, respectively, which are too small compared to empirical values in ordinary bend tests. Consequently, it is concluded that the SR test is not appropriate for use in tensile strength test of rock specimen of NX size. But the ratio of the HR to Brazilian strengths was within 1.7~2.0 for both the previous and present studies, showing a good consistency in their test results.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.5-15
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• 2022

In this study, to propose simplified methods for estimating the cohesion and internal friction angle of volcanic rocks in Jeju Island using uniaxial compressive strength and/or Brazilian tensile strength, the estimated values of cohesion and internal friction angle from triaxial and uniaxial compression tests and Brazilian tests were compared in terms of estimation accuracy. This study proposed simplified methods for estimating the cohesion and internal friction angle using the uniaxial compressive strength and/or Brazilian tensile strength of volcanic rocks in Jeju Island. According to the findings, among the proposed simplified methods, the method using uniaxil compressive strength was most desirable to accurately estimate the cohesion and internal friction angle of volcanic intact rocks in Jeju Island.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.297-304
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• 2021

The hybrid Finite-Discrete Element (FDEM) approach combines aspects of both finite elements and discrete elements with fracture mechanics principles, and therefore it is well suited for realistic simulation of quasi-brittle materials. Notwithstanding, in the literature its application for the analysis of concrete is rather limited. In this paper, the proprietary FDEM code ELFEN is used to model concrete specimens under uniaxial compression and indirect tension (Brazilian tests) of different sizes. The results show that phenomena such as size effect and influence of strain-rate are captured using this modeling technique. In addition, a preliminary model of a slab subjected to dynamic shear punching due to progressive collapse is presented. The resulting fracturing pattern of the impacted slab is similar to observations from actual collapse.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.881-896
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• 2015

A simultaneous analytical, experimental and numerical analysis of crack initiation, propagation and breaking process of the Central Straight through Crack Brazilian Disk (CSCBD) specimens under diametrical compression is carried out. Brazilian disc tests are being accomplished to evaluate the fracturing process based on stress intensity factors (SIFs). The effects of crack inclination angle and crack length on the fracturing processes have been investigated. The same experimental specimens have been numerically modeled by a higher order indirect boundary element method (HDDM). These numerical results are compared with the existing experimental results proving the accuracy and validity of the proposed numerical method.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.410-416
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The standard pattern of Brazilian food consumption is based on the combination of rice and beans served together in the main meals. This study assessed the effects of Brazilian-staple calorie-restricted (BS-diet) dietary advice, with brown rice and beans, on metabolic parameters, body composition, and food intake in overweight/obese subjects. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Twentyseven subjects were randomly assigned to a conventional-type calorie-restricted diet (CT-diet) (n = 13) or a BS-diet (n = 14). Glucose metabolism, lipid profile, anthropometric and body composition parameters, and food intake were measured before and after 16 weeks. Paired t-tests/Wilcoxon tests were used for comparison of differences from baseline and unpaired t-tests/Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of differences between the groups. RESULTS: After16 weeks, both groups showed reductions in weight and waist circumference (P < 0.02), and the BS-diet group showed a decrease in body fat (P = 0.0001), and significant improvement in glucose metabolism (fasting plasma glucose, glucose and insulin areas under the curve, Cederholm index, and HOMA2-$%{\beta}$) ($P{\leq}0.04$) and lipid profile (cholesterol, triacylglycerol, LDL-c, VLDL-c, and cholesterol/HDL-c ratio) ($P{\leq}0.05$). In addition, the BS-diet group showed significant improvement in HOMA2-$%{\beta}$, compared to the CT-diet group (P = 0.03). The BS-diet group also showed a significant reduction in energy, lipids, carbohydrate, and cholesterol intake ($P{\leq}0.04$) and an increase in fiber intake ($P{\leq}0.001$), while the CT-diet group showed a significant reduction in intake of energy, macronutrients, PUFA, and cholesterol ($P{\leq}0.002$). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the benefits of the BS-diet on metabolic parameters in obese subjects.