• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.18 no.3E
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• pp.191-198
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• 2006

The objective of this study is to examine fracture characteristics of concrete at early ages, i.g. critical stress intensity factor, critical crack-tip opening displacement, fracture energy, and bilinear softening curve based on the concepts of effective-elastic crack model and cohesive crack model. A wedge splitting test for Mode I was performed on cubic wedge specimens with a notch at the edge. By experimenting with various strengths and ages, load-crack mouth opening curves were obtained, and the results were analyzed by linear elastic fracture mechanics and FEM(finite element method). The results from the test and analysis showed that critical stress intensity factor and facture energy increased while critical crack-tip opening displacement decreased with concrete aging from 1 day to 28 days. Four parameters of bilinear softening curve from 1 day to 28 days were obtained from a numerical analysis. The obtained fracture parameters and bilinear softening curves at early ages from this study are to be used as a fracture criterion and an input data for the finite element analysis of concrete at early ages.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.495-511
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• 2023

In this research, the impact of micro-silica, nano-silica, and polypropylene fibers on the fracture energy of self-compacting concrete was thoroughly examined. Enhancing the fracture energy is very important to increase the crack propagation resistance. The study focused on evaluating the self-compacting properties of the concrete through various tests, including J-ring, V-funnel, slump flow, and T50 tests. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the concrete, such as compressive and tensile strengths, modulus of elasticity, and fracture parameters were investigated on hardened specimens after 28 days. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of micro-silica and nano-silica not only decreased the rheological aspects of self-compacting concrete but also significantly enhanced its mechanical properties, particularly the compressive strength. On the other hand, the inclusion of polypropylene fibers had a positive impact on fracture parameters, tensile strength, and flexural strength of the specimens. Utilizing the response surface method, the relationship between micro-silica, nano-silica, and fibers was established. The optimal combination for achieving the highest compressive strength was found to be 5% micro-silica, 0.75% nano-silica, and 0.1% fibers. Furthermore, for obtaining the best mixture with superior tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and fracture energy, the ideal proportion was determined as 5% micro-silica, 0.75% nano-silica, and 0.15% fibers. Compared to the control mixture, the aforementioned parameters showed significant improvements of 26.3%, 30.3%, 34.3%, and 34.3%, respectively. In order to accurately model the tensile cracking of concrete, the authors used softening curves derived from an inverse algorithm proposed by them. This method allowed for a precise and detailed analysis of the concrete under tensile stress. This study explores the effects of micro-silica, nano-silica, and polypropylene fibers on self-compacting concrete and shows their influences on the fracture energy and various mechanical properties of the concrete. The results offer valuable insights for optimizing the concrete mix to achieve desired strength and performance characteristics.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.215-226
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• 2012

This article employs Support Vector Machine (SVM) for determination of fracture parameters critical stress intensity factor ($K^s_{Ic}$) and the critical crack tip opening displacement ($CTOD_c$) of concrete. SVM that is firmly based on the theory of statistical learning theory, uses regression technique by introducing ${\varepsilon}$-insensitive loss function has been adopted. The results are compared with a widely used Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. Equations have been also developed for prediction of $K^s_{Ic}$ and $CTOD_c$. A sensitivity analysis has been also performed to investigate the importance of the input parameters. The results of this study show that the developed SVM is a robust model for determination of $K^s_{Ic}$ and $CTOD_c$ of concrete.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.84-91
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• 1996

A fractal analysis on fracture surface of aluminium-particulate SiC composites was attempted. As the volume fraction of SiC in composites increases, the fractal dimension tends to increase. However, no correlation between the fractal dimension and the fracture toughness in terms of critical energy release rate was observed. Since the fractal dimension represents the roughness of fracture surface, the fracture toughness would be a function of not only fracture surface roughness but also additional parameters. Thus the applicability of fractal analysis to the estimation of fracture toughness must depend on the proper choice and interpretation of additioal paramerters. In this paper, the size of characteristic strctural unit for fracture was considered as an additional parameter. As a result, the size appeared to be a function of only volume fraction of SiC. Finally, a master curve for fracture toughness of aluminium-particulate SiC composites was proposed as a function of fractal dimension and volume fraction of SiC.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.565-576
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• 2007

The article describes a technique for the measurement of the level of complexity of fracture surfaces by the method of vertical sections, and a performed statistical analysis of the effect of profile lines on the fractographic and fractal parameters of fractures, i.e. the profile line development factor, $R_L$, and the fracture surface development factor, $R_S$, (as defined by the cycloid method), as well as the fractal dimension, $D_C$, (as determined by the chord method), and the fractal dimension, $D_{BC}$, (as determined by the box method). The above-mentioned parameters were determined for fracture surfaces of basalt and gravel concretes, respectively, which had previously been subjected to fracture toughness tests. The concretes were made from mixtures of a water/cement ratio ranging from 0.41 to 0.61 and with a variable fraction of coarse aggregate to fine aggregate, $C_{agg.}/F_{agg.}$, in the range from 1.5 to 3.5. Basalt and gravel aggregate of a fraction to maximum 16 mm were used to the tests. Based on the performed analysis it has been established that the necessary number of concrete fracture profile lines, which assures the reliability of obtained testing results, should amount to 12.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.2451-2454
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• 2005

In recent years, the importance of the characterization of fall for a fracture prevention system keeps increasing since fracture from a fall can lead to serious health problems. Fall is one of the major sources which increase morbidity in elderly people. In terms of the cost and the influence to the quality of life, the most serious injury with hip fractures is caused by falls. The traditional methods in characterizing fall patterns have been mainly by the epidemiological surveys. With surveys, the exact data of fall patterns can not been acquired. In this paper, we measured and analyzed with the parameters related to fall pattern such as velocities and accelerations during the motion of falls using 3D motion capture program. We acquired the parameters of the fall pattern of intentional and unexpected fall. The result showed that the variation of velocity and acceleration during fall was very important in characterizing fall pattern, which of vital importance for the development of a fracture prevention system and for the safety of the elderly.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.70-76
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• 2007

Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics is popularly used for integrity evaluation of major components, however, it is not easy to extract standard specimens from operating facility. This paper examines how ductile fracture toughness is characterized by a small punch testing technique in conjunction with finite element analyses incorporating a damage model. At first, micro-mechanical parameters constituting Rousselier model are calibrated for typical nuclear materials using both estimated and experimental load-displacement (P-$\delta$) curves of miniaturized specimens. Then, fracture resistance (J-R) curves of relatively larger standard CT specimens are predicted by finite element analyses employing the calibrated parameters and compared with corresponding experimental ones. It was proven that estimated results by the proposed method using small punch specimen is promising and might be used as a useful tool for ductile crack growth evaluation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.137-155
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• 2013

Brittle fracture of structures excited by earthquakes can be prevented by adding a tuned mass damper (TMD). This TMD must be optimum and suitable to the physical conditions of the structure. Compressive strength of concrete is an important factor for brittle fracture. The application of a TMD to structures with low compressive strength of concrete may not be possible if the weight of the TMD is too much. A heavy TMD is dangerous for these structures because of insufficient axial force capacity of structure. For the preventing brittle fracture, the damping ratio of the TMD must be sufficient to reduce maximum shear forces below the values proposed in design regulations. Using the formulas for frequency and damping ratio related to a preselected mass, this objective can be only achieved by increasing the mass of the TMD. By using a metaheuristic method, the optimum parameters can be searched in a specific limit. In this study, Harmony Search (HS) is employed to find optimum TMD parameters for preventing brittle fracture by reducing shear force in additional to other time and frequency responses. The proposed method is feasible for the retrofit of weak structures with insufficient compressive strength of concrete.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1451-1459
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• 1995

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the material properties of SA312 TP316 and SA312 TP304 stainless steels and their associated welds manufactured for safety injection system of Yonggwang 3,4 nuclear generating stations. A total of 62 tensile tests and 46 fracture toughness tests were conducted and the effects of various parameters such as pipe size, crack plane orientation, tests were conducted and the effects of various parameters such as pipe size, crack plane orientation, test temperature, welding on material properties were discussed. Test results show that the effect of test temperature on fracture toughness was significant while the effects of pipe size and crack plane orientation on fracture toughness were negligible. Fracture toughness of the weld metal was in general higher than that of the base metal.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.287-293
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• 2011

The enamel, the upper layer of a tooth has remarkable capability of bearing severe loading on the tooth. The fracture behavior is important to understand the mechanism of load bearing and it could be very useful for developing new materials. Non-destructive evaluation of such materials will also benefit from this knowledge. The graded microstructures of enamel were modeled by finite element analysis software and the J-integrals and the stress intensity factors were evaluated as the fracture parameters. The results show that these parameters are location dependent. Those values increase when measured in the direction of dentine enamel junction. This finding matched well with experiments and implies many useful understanding of biomaterials and applications to new materials.