University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Crack propagation in plain concrete

Lott, James L.; Kesler, Clyde E.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/112356

Description

Title
Crack propagation in plain concrete
Author(s)
  • Lott, James L.
  • Kesler, Clyde E.
Contributor(s)
  • Illinois. The Division of Highways
  • U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Public Roads
Issue Date
1964-08
Keyword(s)
  • Crack Propogation
  • Concrete
  • Plain Concrete
Abstract
"The propogation of existing cracks in plain concrete under static loading is influenced by the properties of the cement paste matrix and the aggregates. Initial cracks are assumed to exist in the matrix and at the matrix-aggregate interface. Crack propogation through the matrix occurs in two stages: slow growth and rapid propagation. A hypothesis for the fracture of concrete is presented. In the energy concept of fracture mechanics of homogeneous material the fracture toughness or material resistance to crack propogation is expressed as the stress intensity factor for the region near the crack tip 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 is equal to the summation of the fracture toughness of the cement paste and an arresting action that is developed by the aggregates. An experimental investigation was undertaken to provide an evaluation of the hypothesis. Five mortar and five concrete mixes were used. The variables included the water-cement ratio; the sand-cement ratio and the gravel-cement ratio. Five notched flexural specimens for each mix design were tested at 28 days. A continous record of applied load vs. tensile surface deformation was obtained during each test. The load-deformation records indicated that the behavior of the notched specimens under loading included four stages; the ""linear"" stage, ""microcracking"" stage, ""slow growth"" stage and ""fracture"" stage. Analysis of the test data indicated that the pseudo-fracture toughness varied directly with the coarse aggregate content. The range of water-cement ratio and fine aggregate content investigated had negligible effect on the pseudo-fracture toughness. Suggestions are included for further studies of crack propagation in plain concrete. These studies would include investigations of the variables that affect the fracture toughness of cement paste and the crack arresting action of aggregates. It is anticipated that these would greatly extend the scope of the findings of the present study of concrete fracture."
Publisher
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. College of Engineering. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
  • TAM R 648
  • 1971-8612
ISSN
0073-5264
Type of Resource
text
Language
eng
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/112356
Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)
Illinois Highway Division 64/08; Comm Department Bureau of Public Roads 64/08
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1964 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Technical Reports - Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM) PRIMARY
TAM technical reports include manuscripts intended for publication, theses judged to have general interest, notes prepared for short courses, symposia compiled from outstanding undergraduate projects, and reports prepared for research-sponsoring agencies.