Effect of Loading Rate on Fracture Energy of High-Strength Concrete

• Published in: Strain 2011-12, Vol.47 (6), p.518-524
• Main Authors: Ruiz, G., Zhang, X. X., Yu, R. C., Porras, R., Poveda, E., del Viso, J. R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aggregates; Concretes; Displacement; effect of the loading rate; Energy use; fracture energy; Fracture mechanics; Fracture toughness; high strength concrete; Loading rate; Segregations
• ISSN: 0039-2103; 1475-1305
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2010.00719.x

:  This research deals with the sensitivity of several types of performance‐designed high‐strength concrete to the loading rate. Variations in the composition of the concrete produce the desired performance, for instance having null shrinkage or being able to be pumped at elevated heights without segregation, but they also produce variations in the fracture properties that are reported in this paper. We performed tests at five loading rates spanning six orders of magnitude in the displacement rate, from 1.74 × 10−5 mm s−1 to 17.4 mm s−1. Load‐displacement curves show that their peak is higher as the displacement rate increases, whereas the corresponding displacement is almost constant. Fracture energy also increases, but only for loading rates higher than 0.01 mm s−1. We use a formula based on a cohesive law with a viscous term [Anales de Mecánica de la Fractura 25 (2008) 793–797] to study the results. The correlation of the formula to the experimental results is good and it allows us to obtain the theoretical value for the fracture energy under strictly static conditions. In addition, both the fracture energy and the characteristic length of the concretes used in the study diminish as the compressive strength of their aggregates increases.