2008 Volume 11 Pages 351-359
We propose a new method for evaluating fracture energy, which characterizes the fracture toughness of quasibrittle materials, by means of the method of crack propagation analyses with the cohesive crack model. In the proposed method, after three-point-bend experiments are conducted on mortar beam specimens with a single notch, the fracture energy is determined as a material parameter in crack propagation analyses so that the actual fracture behavior is well simulated. Since the analysis method enables us to properly attain the energy balance in both the equilibrium and the crack opening, the identified fracture energy is independentof specimen sizes, as opposed to the other conventional evaluation methods. Therefore, the proposed method enables to solve the problem of size effect on a fracture energy.
