CRACK PROPAGATION IN PLAIN CONCRETE

A HYPOTHESIS FOR THE FRACTURE OF CONCRETE IS PRESENTED. INITIAL CRACKS EXIST IN THE CEMENT PASTE MATRIX AND AT THE MATRIX-AGGREGATE INTERFACE. THE PROPAGATION OF EXISTING CRACKS IN PLAIN CONCRETE IS INFLUENCED BY THE PROPERTIES OF THE CEMENT PASTE AND THE AGGREGATES. THE FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OR RESISTANCE TO CRACK PROPAGATION OF A HOMOGENEOUS MATERIAL CAN BE EXPRESSED AS THE STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR FOR THE REGION NEAR THE TIP OF AN EXISTING CRACK AT THE ONSET OF RAPID CRACK PROPAGATION. A PSEUDO-FRACTURE TOUGHNESS IS OBTAINED FOR CONCRETE WHEN IT IS ANALYZED AS A HOMOGENEOUS MATERIAL. THE PSEUDO-FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF CONCRETE IS THE SUMMATION OF THE FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF THE CEMENT PASTE AND AN ARRESTING ACTION OF THE AGGREGATES ON CRACK GROWTH. AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION FORMED PART OF THE STUDY AND WAS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AN EVALUATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS FOR FRACTURE OF CONCRETE. RESULTS INDICATE THAT CONCRETES WITH TYPICAL COARSE AGGREGATE CONTENTS HAVE APPROXIMATELY TWENTY PERCENT GREATER RESISTANCE TO CRACK GROWTH THAN MORTARS WITH WIMILAR WATER-CEMENT AND SAND-CEMENT RATIOS. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr90/90-017.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Research Board (HRB)

  Washington, DC   
• Authors:
  • Lott, James
  • Kesler, Clyde E
• Publication Date: 1966

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 204-218
• Monograph Title: Symposium on structure of Portland cement paste and concrete
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 90
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Cement; Coarse aggregates; Concrete; Cracking; Experiments; Fracture mechanics; Hypothesis testing; Pastes; Stress ratio
• Uncontrolled Terms: Crack propagation; Fracture; Hypothesis; Intensity
• Old TRIS Terms: Resistance
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00212308
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Nov 18 1994 12:00AM