• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.379-386
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• 2018

The present study addresses the direct and indirect methods of determining the mode-I fracture toughness of concrete using experimental tests and particle flow code. The direct method used is compaction tensile test and the indirect methods are notched Brazilian disc test, semi-circular bend specimen test, and hollow center cracked disc. The experiments were carried out to determine which indirect method yields the fracture toughness closer to the one obtained by the direct method. In the numerical analysis, the PFC model was first calibrated with respect to the data obtained from the Brazilian laboratory test. The crack paths observed in the simulated tests were in reasonable accordance with experimental results. The discrete element simulations demonstrated that the macro fractures in the models are caused by microscopic tensile breakages on large numbers of bonded particles. The mode-I fracture toughness in the direct tensile test was smaller than the indirect testing results. The fracture toughness obtained from the SCB test was closer to the direct test results. Hence, the semi-circular bend test is recommended as a proper experiment for determination of mode-I fracture toughness of concrete in the absence of direct tests.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.81-97
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• 2012

This paper presents development of double-K fracture model for the split-tension cube specimen for determining the unstable fracture toughness and initial cracking toughness of concrete. There are some advantages of using of split-tension cube test like compactness and lightness over the existing specimen geometries in practice such as three-point bend test, wedge splitting test and compact tension specimen. The cohesive toughness of the material is determined using weight function having four terms for the split-tension cube specimen. Some empirical relations are also suggested for determining geometrical factors in order to calculate stress intensity factor and crack mouth opening displacement for the same specimen. The results of double-K fracture parameters of split-tension cube specimen are compared with those obtained for compact tension specimen. Finally, the influence of the width of the load-distribution of split-tension cube specimen on the double-K fracture parameters for laboratory size specimens is investigated. The input data required for determining double-K fracture parameters for both the specimen geometries are obtained using well known version of the Fictitious Crack Model.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1994.10a
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• pp.279-284
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• 1994

Fracture mechanics does work for concrete, provided that one used a proper, nonlinear form of fracture mechanics in which a finite nonlinear zone at fracture front is being considered. The fracture process zone is a region ahead of a traction-free crack, in which two major mechanisms, microcracking and bridging, play important rules. The toughness due to bridging is dominant compared to the toughness induced by the microcracking, so that the bridging is the dominant mechanism governing the fracture process of concrete. In this paper the bridging zone, which is a part of extended macrocrck with stresses transmitted by aggregates in concrete, is modelled by a Dugdale-Barenblatt type model with lenear tension-softening curve for the analyses of crack growth in concrete Finite element technique is shown for inplementation of the model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.5
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• pp.481-492
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• 2024

This research examined the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete at unstable environmental conditions. Concrete composites with varying percentages of steel and glass fibers were analyzed. Compressive, indirect tensile, and fracture toughness properties were evaluated using the Edge Notched Disc Bend (ENDB) test under freezing-thawing and acidic environments and the results were compared with normal conditions. Steel fibers decreased the strength in the specified cycles, while glass fibers showed a normal strength trend. The compressive, tensile and fracture toughness of the samples containing 1.5 vol.% fibers showed a 1.28-, 2.13- and 4.5-fold enhancement compared to samples without fibers, after 300 freezing-thawing cycles, respectively.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2005

The article presents the results of examination of the fractal dimension D of concrete specimen fracture surfaces obtained in fracture toughness tests. The concretes were made from three different types of coarse aggregate: gravel, dolomite and basalt aggregate. Ordinary concretes (C40) and high-performance concretes (HPC) were subjected to testing after 7, 14, 28 and 90 days of curing, respectively. In fracture toughness and compressive tests, different behaviours of concretes were found, depending on the type of aggregate and class of concrete (C40, HPC). A significant increase in the strength parameters tested occurred also after a period of 28 days (up to the $90^{th}$ day of curing) and was particularly large for concretes C40. Fractal examinations performed on fracture replicas showed that the fractal dimension D was diverse, depending on the coarse aggregate type and concrete class being, however, statistically constant after 7 and 14 days for respective concretes during curing. The fractal dimension D was the greater, the worse strength properties were possessed by the concrete. A cross-grain crack propagation occurred in that case, due to weak cohesion forces at the coarse aggregate/mortar interface. A similar effect was observed for C40 and HPC made from the same aggregate. A greater dimension D was exhibited by concretes C40, in which case the fracture was easier to form compared with high-performance concretes, where, as a result of high aggregate/mortar cohesion forces, the crack propagation was of inter-granular type, and the resulted fracture was flatter.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.411-427
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• 2006

The Discrete Element Method, DEM, is increasingly used in fracture studies of non-homogeneous continuous media, such as rock and concrete. A 2D circular rigid DEM formulation, developed to model concrete, has been adopted. A procedure developed to generate aggregate particles with a given aspect ratio and shape is presented. The aggregate particles are modelled with macroparticles formed by a group of circular particles that behave as a rigid body. Uniaxial tensile and compression tests performed with circular and non-circular aggregates, with a given aspect ratio, have shown similar values of fracture toughness when adopting uniform strength and elastic properties for all the contacts. Non-circular aggregate assemblies are shown to have higher fracture toughness when different strength and elastic properties are set for the matrix and for the aggregate/matrix contacts.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1998.10b
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• pp.797-802
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• 1998

Fiber reinforcement can significantly improve the properties of concrete. Particulary, toughness or energy-absorbing ability of fiber reinforced concrete is frequently higher than that of unreinforced concrete. Toughness is a measure of energy absorption capacity and used to characterized fiber reinforced concrete's ability to resist fracture when subjected to static, dynamic and impact loads. However, the current standard methods of characterizing the toughness of fiber reinforced concrete have proven to be some inadequate and problems and have caused a great deal of dissent and confusion. This study research some of the inadequate and problems with these toughness measurement methods and proposes the evaluation method for Fiber Reinforced Concrete toughness.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.163-177
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• 2023

Complex and intricate preparation techniques, the imperative for utmost precision and sensitivity in instrumentation, premature sample failure, and fragile specimens collectively contribute to the arduous task of measuring the fracture toughness of concrete in the laboratory. The objective of this research is to introduce and refine an equation based on the gene expression programming (GEP) method to calculate the fracture toughness of reinforced concrete, thereby minimizing the need for costly and time-consuming laboratory experiments. To accomplish this, various types of reinforced concrete, each incorporating distinct ratios of fibers and additives, were subjected to diverse loading angles relative to the initial crack (α) in order to ascertain the effective fracture toughness (Keff) of 660 samples utilizing the central straight notched Brazilian disc (CSNBD) test. Within the datasets, six pivotal input factors influencing the Keff of concrete, namely sample type (ST), diameter (D), thickness (t), length (L), force (F), and α, were taken into account. The ST and α parameters represent crucial inputs in the model presented in this study, marking the first instance that their influence has been examined via the CSNBD test. Of the 660 datasets, 460 were utilized for training purposes, while 100 each were allotted for testing and validation of the model. The GEP model was fine-tuned based on the training datasets, and its efficacy was evaluated using the separate test and validation datasets. In subsequent stages, the GEP model was optimized, yielding the most robust models. Ultimately, an equation was derived by averaging the most exemplary models, providing a means to predict the Keff parameter. This averaged equation exhibited exceptional proficiency in predicting the Keff of concrete. The significance of this work lies in the possibility of obtaining the Keff parameter without investing copious amounts of time and resources into the CSNBD test, simply by inputting the relevant parameters into the equation derived for diverse samples of reinforced concrete subject to varied loading angles.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.371-378
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• 2001

Recently, the parameters, models, and experimentations, which evaluate the fracture properties of concrete, have been proposed by many researchers, and their developments allow us to analyze the non-linear and quasi-brittle fracture mechanisms. In this paper, a brief treatment of the fracture parameters was presented and the experiments of 3-point bending tests were conducted to compare J-integral($J_{Ic}$ /) with other parameters($K_{Ic}$ , $G_{v}$ , and $G_{F}$ ). The change of parameter values according to the width and notch length of concrete beam specimens was also considered. The load-displacement curves are used to experimentally measure concrete fracture toughness. From the results of experiment, it is noted that the value of $GF$ and tic decreases as the notch depth increases and $G_{F}$ is less sensitive than $J_{Ic}$ . Therefore, the former is more appropriate to use as the concrete fracture toughness parameter. The values of $v_{v}$ and $J_{Ic}$ increase when the width of concrete specimens increase from 75 mm to 150 mm. Therefore, the effects of specimen width need to be considered in determining the concrete fracture toughness.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.3 no.1 s.7
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• pp.185-197
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• 2001

This paper dealt with modification of effective crack length model (ECM) by adding Poisson's ratio term to evaluate fracture toughness of asphalt concrete which varies its material property by temperature. The original ECM model was developed for solid materials, such as cement concrete, and Poisson's ratio of materials was not considered. However, since asphalt concrete is sensitive to temperature variation and changes its Poisson's ratio by temperature, it should be taken into consideration to know exact fracture property under various temperatures. Four binders, including 3 polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) binders, were used to make a dense-grade asphalt mixture and 3-point bending test was peformed on notched beam at low temperatures, from -5oC to 35oC. Elastic modulus, flexural strength and fracture toughness were obtained from the test. The results showed that, since Poisson's ratio was considered, the more accurate test values could be obtained using modified ECM equation than original ECM. PMA mixture showed higher stiffness and fracture toughness than normal asphalt mixture under very low temperatures.