CL WL-DCB specimens were used to study the fracture properties and high strength nonhalweight concretes and of high strength lightweight aggregate concretes. A three segment fracture process zone model developed in prior studies, when modified appropriately, predicted well the relative…
CL WL-DCB specimens were used to study the fracture properties and high strength nonhalweight concretes and of high strength lightweight aggregate concretes. A three segment fracture process zone model developed in prior studies, when modified appropriately, predicted well the relative fracture behavior of the three concretes. Modifications to differentiate between mixes were necessary primarily in the final segment of the model where the crack closing stress decreased slowly to zero with increasing crack widths. The fracture energy provided by that segment for a 112 MPa dense aggregate concrete was only about half that for a 28 MPa dense aggregate concrete. For a 79 MPa lightweight aggregate concrete the fracture energy provided by that segment was less than 10 % of that for the 28 MPa dense aggregate concrete. There was a clear correlation between the .,JUJ.VVIL-J.U_J.'"'"'" of the fracture surface and the fracture energy of that final segment.