• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 1990

Concrete, a mixed material, has heterogeniety, anisotrophy and nonlinearity. Therefore, in its 'racture analysis, it is more reasonable to evaluate its fracture toughness by applying the concept of 'racture mechanics rather than the strength concept. Up to the present the concepts of fracture mechanics which were applied to concrete have been divided into two main classes. The one is the concept of linear elastic fracture mechanics and the other is the concept of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. But it has been pointed out that there are many problems and irrationalities in applying the concept of linear elastic fracture mechanics to concrete. In this study, the J -integral method and the COD method mainly used in the analysis of nonlinear fracture mechanics, were introduced and the three point bending test was carried out for investigating the effects of the variation of the maximum aggregate size and notch depth on the fracture behavior and the crack growth of concrete, and the relationships of fracture energy and crack opening displacement. According to the results of this study the more the maximum aggregate size and the notch depth increased, the more the nonlinearity of load-deflection behavior was remarkable. The increase of the coarse aggregate size created the more ductility of concrete. Thus concrete showed the more stable fracture. As for the path of the crack growth, the more the coarse aggregate size increased, the more it was irregulary deviated from the straight line but it was not almost affected by the variation of the notch depth. Also, the fracture energy increased according as the coarse aggregate size increased and the notch depth decreased.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.267-278
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• 2016

In order to observe the internal damage of concrete in real time, we introduced acoustic emission nondestructive detecting technology into a series of fracture tests; the test results revealed the whole process that concrete undergoes when it sustains damage that leads to failure, according to the change rules of the acoustic emission parameters. The results showed that both the initiation and unstable loads can be accurately determined using the abrupt change of the acoustic emission rate curves and the turning point of the acoustic emission parameters' accumulative curves. The whole process, from damage to failure, includes five phases, beginning with damage, such as cracking, a stable crack growth process, a critical unstable stage, and unstable propagation. The brittle fracture characteristics of concrete change when steel bars are joined, because the steel bars and the concrete structure bond, which causes an increase in the acoustic emission signals within the fracture process of the reinforced concrete. The unstable propagation stage is also extended. Our research results provide a valid methodology and technical explanations, which can help researchers to monitor the cracking process of concrete structures, in real time, during actual projects.