Numerical Simulation of the Effect of Loading Angle on Initial Cracks Position Point: Application to the Brazilian Test

Meriem Fakhreddine Bouali,Mounir Bouassida

doi:10.3390/app11083573

Abstract

The Brazilian Test is the most used test to determine the indirect tensile strength for brittle materials like concrete. It has been observed that the success of the test depends on the cracks initiation point position and therefore the arch loading angle; a crack appears in the center of the disk when the test is valid. To this effect, using Fast Lagrangian of Continua code FLAC2D; numerical analyses were performed to study the impact of the arch loading angle on the initial crack’s position in a 70 mm diameter Brazilian disk of concrete and mortar under loading arch 2α which varies from 5–45°. The distribution of stresses and the tensile strength at the center of the Brazilian disk obtained numerically was closely similar to analytical and experimental existing solutions. The results showed that to obtain a meaningful and validated test with the most accurate indirect tensile strength, it is recommended to take a loading arch 2α ≥ 20° for the concrete and 2α ≥ 10° for the mortar.

Highlights

As two typical concrete-like materials; concrete and mortar are the most used brittle materials in civil engineering structures [1]
By conducting the test in the laboratory, the main question is: What are the optimal loading arch under which the Brazilian Test can become meaningful and guaranteed?. This numerical analysis using FLAC2D [21] focuses on the determination of the impact of arch loading angle and initial cracks position point on the success of the disks of concrete and mortar tested by Jin et al [8] under loading arch 2α which varies from 5–45◦
In order to recommend the best loading configuration which gives a successful test with a correct estimation of the indirect tensile strength of concrete and mortar, the influence of arch loading angle and initial cracks position point on the success of the disks of concrete and mortar tested by Jin et al [8] under loading arch 2α, which varies from 5–45◦, was investigated using numerical software FLAC2D [21]

Summary

Introduction

As two typical concrete-like materials; concrete and mortar are the most used brittle materials in civil engineering structures [1]. To describe the mechanical failure of brittle materials, it is appropriate to evaluate the tensile strength rather than to evaluate the compressive strength [2,3]. Indirect tensile tests have been developed, including the diametrical compression on a disk to calculate the tensile strength of brittle materials [2]. The so-called ”Brazilian Test” is the most used test to determine the indirect tensile strength for brittle materials like concrete [2,5]. It is a simple indirect testing method for determining the tensile strength. The indirect tensile strength is calculated assuming that failure initiates at the point of maximum tensile stress, i.e., at the center of the disk [5,6,7,8]

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Results

Conclusion