The paper presents a technique for estimation of the size and shape of an inelastic zone evolv- ing around the crack tip during tensile failure in quasi-brittle silicate-based composites. The technique is based on amalgamation of several concepts dealing with…
The paper presents a technique for estimation of the size and shape of an inelastic zone evolv- ing around the crack tip during tensile failure in quasi-brittle silicate-based composites. The technique is based on amalgamation of several concepts dealing with failure of structural materials, i.e. multi-parameter linear elastic fracture mechanics, classical non-linear fracture models for concrete, and the plasticity ap- proach. Much attention is paid to the accurate description of the stress field in cracked specimens by means of two-parameter linear elastic fracture mechanics, particularly those used for wedge splitting test. The benefit of the proposed technique is expected to be viewed through the perspective of the determination of fracture characteristics describing the tensile failure of quasi-brittle silicate-based composites. The method is demon- strated using an example of a wedge-splitting fracture test on a compact tension specimen borrowed from lit- erature. Reasonable utilization of the method was therefore a motivation for precise FEM analyses which were performed to enable sufficiently accurate description of the near-crack-tip stress field by two-parameter fracture mechanics.