Abstract
The fractal geometry is a non-Euclidean geometry which describes the naturally irregular or fragmented shapes, so that it can be applied to fracture behavior of materials to investigate the fracture process. Fractal curves have a characteristic that represents a self-similarity as an invariant based on the fractal dimension. This fractal geometry was applied to the crack growth of cementitious composites in order to correlate the fracture behavior to microstructures of cementitious composites. The purpose of this study was to find relationships between fractal dimensions and fracture energy. Fracture test was carried out in order to investigate the fracture behavior of plain and fiber reinforced cement composites. The load-CMOD curve and fracture energy of the beams were observed under the three point loading system. The crack profiles were obtained by the image processing system. Box counting method was used to determine the fractal dimension, D$_{f}$. It was known that the linear correlation exists between fractal dimension and fracture energy of the cement composites. The implications of the fractal nature for the crack growth behavior on the fracture energy, G$_{f}$ is apparent.ent.
