Fracture Mechanics Of Composites

Fracture Mechanics of Composites

Application of Fracture Mechanics to Cementitious Composites

Portland cement concrete is a relatively brittle material. As a result, mechanical behavior of concrete, conventionally reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, and fiber reinforced concrete is critically influenced by crack propagation. It is, thus, not surprising that attempts are being made to apply the concepts of fracture mechanics to quantify the resistance to cracking in cementious composites. The field of fracture mechanics originated in the 1920's with A. A. Griffith's work on fracture of brittle materials such as glass. Its most significant applications, however, have been for controlling brittle fracture and fatigue failure of metallic structures such as pressure vessels, airplanes, ships and pipe lines. Considerable development has occurred in the last twenty years in modifying Griffith's ideas or in proposing new concepts to account for the ductility typical of metals. As a result of these efforts, standard testing techniques have been available to obtain fracture parameters for metals, and design based on these parameters are included in relevant specifications. Many attempts have been made, in the last two decades or so, to apply the fracture mechanics concepts to cement, mortar, con crete and reinforced concrete. So far, these attempts have not led to a unique set of material parameters which can quantify the resistance of these cementitious composites to fracture. No standard testing methods and a generally accepted theoretical analysis are established for concrete as they are for metals.

Mechanics of Composite, Hybrid and Multifunctional Materials, Fracture, Fatigue, Failure and Damage Evolution, Volume 3

Mechanics of Composite, Hybrid, and Multifunctional Materials, Fracture, Fatigue, Failure and Damage Evolution, Volume 3 of the Proceedings of the 2021 SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the third volume of four from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on a wide range of areas, including: Recycled Constituent Composites Damage Detection Advanced Imaging of Composites Multifunctional Materials Composite Interfaces Tunable Composites Novel Experimental Methods Extreme Environments Interfacial Fracture Integration of Models & Experiments Mechanics of Energy & Energetic Materials Integration of Models & Experiments In Situ Techniques for Fatigue & Fracture Microscale & Microstructural Effects on Mechanical Behavior