Effects of Specimen Size and Crack Depth Ratio on Double-K Fracture Model Parameters of Roller Compacted Concrete

Abstract

Wedge splitting test is employed to study the effects of different specimen sizes and different crack depth ratios of roller compacted concrete on double-K fracture model parameters. Results show that with an increase in initial crack depth ratio α, the unstable fracture toughness KunIC increases while the initial fracture toughness KiniIC decreases. In the range of 0.4~0.6, α has a continuous effect on KiniIC. However, the effect on KunIC reduces with the increase of α value. For specimen size, when the height of the specimen, h, is smaller than 300 mm, the effect of specimen size on KunIC is significant, but it decreases when h is larger than 300 mm and smaller than 500 mm.