The structural size effect on mechanical response of quasi-brittle materials is generally attrib- uted to the stable growth of fracture process zone or microcracking ahead of the propagating crack before maximum load is reached. The process of microcracking essentially depends…
The structural size effect on mechanical response of quasi-brittle materials is generally attrib- uted to the stable growth of fracture process zone or microcracking ahead of the propagating crack before maximum load is reached. The process of microcracking essentially depends on the heterogeneity of material microstructure and its presence reduces the speed of the propagating crack. The purpose of this study is to identify the cracking phenomenon and the process of crack propagation in geometrically similar concrete beams. Three point bending tests are performed on scaled concrete beams in accordance with RILEM rec- ommendation of size effect test. A non contact method using Digital Image Correlation technique is applied on the surface of concrete beam to capture crack propagation in two dimensions. The technique is found very effective to measure the crack growth in concrete.