Correlation analysis between fracture toughness and tensile strength of cement soil based on notched semi-circle bend specimen

Abstract

To reveal the influence of cement proportion (P) and curing age (T) on the anti-cracking ability of cement soil, notched semi-circular bending specimens were used in this study. Tensile strength tests and mode I fracture tests were performed on cement soils with different P and T. The evolutionary characteristics of the tensile strength σ t and mode I fracture toughness K IC were obtained. The test results showed that σ t and K IC gradually increased with increasing cement proportion P and curing age T, with both exhibiting a logarithmic function relationship. Predictive models for σ t and K IC, which were developed using regression analysis, can be used to evaluate the anti-cracking ability of cement soils. Therefore, the correlation between K IC and σ t of cement soils was theoretically analyzed. The variability of the correlation coefficients was discussed in the context of existing research on soil materials, and the differences in the critical dimensions were analyzed based on the correlation coefficients.