Mesomechanical Investigation of the Relationship between the Length of the Fracture Process Zone and Crack Extensions in Concrete

Abstract

This paper deals with a mesomechanical modeling of fracture in concrete like quasi-brittle materials. The paper seeks to provide insight regarding the variation of the fracture process zone (FPZ) length during the cracking process. The correlation between the FPZ length and the crack extension is also investigated. The FPZ variation is investigated through the evolution of cohesive tangential stresses along the crack path of different notched beams under three-point bending tests. The concept of equivalent linear elastic fracture mechanics is then employed to compute the crack extensions. The mesoscale investigation shows that the relationship between the FPZ length and the crack length is non linear. Furthermore, the numerical crack extensions are used to investigate the R-curve. It is shown that the R-curve is size-dependent and notch-sensitive.