Determining double-K fracture parameters of concrete only by the measured peak load

Abstract

The peak load and critical crack-mouth opening displacement are two essential parameters that should be measured in the conventional analytical method to determine double-K fracture parameters of concrete. In this study, we propose a method to determine the double-K fracture parameters only by using the measured peak load so that both the measurement of critical crack-mouth opening displacement and the limit to require three or more distinct specimens in the conventional peak load method can be avoided. Furthermore, double-K fracture parameters are computed using the conventional analytical method and proposed method respectively through the three-point bending test and the findings in the scientific literature. The results show that the fracture parameters of the double-K fracture model can be determined by using this proposed method without any appreciable error.