Analytical methods for determination of double-K fracture parameters of concrete

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study on the double-K fracture parameters of concrete obtained using four existing analytical methods such as Gauss-Chebyshev integral method, simplified Green's function method, weight function method and simplified equivalent cohesive force method. Two specimen geometries: three point bend test and compact tension specimen for sizes 100-500 mm at initial notch length to depth ratios 0.25 and 0.4 are used for the comparative study. The required input parameters for determining the double-K fracture parameters are derived from the developed fictitious crack model. It is found that the cohesive toughness and initial cracking toughness determined using weight function method and simplified equivalent cohesive force method agree well with those obtained using Gauss-Chebyshev integral method whereas these fracture parameters determined using simplified Green's function method deviates more than by 11% and 20% respectively as compared with those obtained using Gauss-Chebyshev integral method. It is also shown that all the fracture parameters related with double-K model are size dependent.