Abstract
Under stress microcracks propagate in the cement paste and arrest when reaching the aggregates. A stable distribution of microcracks results, absorbing a large amount of energy compared with the fracture toughness of the cement paste.
At the tip of a macrocrack a damaged microcracked zone develops. An exact solution of the problem was given in mode III, while the approximate solution in mode I shows that in concrete this zone is quite wide.
Very large specimens are thus needed to perform a valid KIC measurement on concrete. Some experiments using a DCB specimen are described.
On smaller specimens the damaged zone spreads across the whole section. The behavior can be explained by damage mechanics, the damage parameter being identified with tensile or bending tests in displacement control. The damage threshold can be represented by a statistical variable following Weibull’s statistics. There is a good correlation between the evolution of the damage parameter and the acoustic emission.
The irreversible strain of concrete is the result of the release of internal stresses as elements break.
Finally, the damage theory can help to predict the behavior of concrete in fatigue.
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© 1985 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Francois, D. (1985). Fracture and Damage Mechanics of Concrete. In: Shah, S.P. (eds) Application of Fracture Mechanics to Cementitious Composites. NATO ASI Series, vol 94. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5121-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5121-1_5
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