The study described in this paper was based on some recently published results of research on the behaviour of high-performance concrete in three-point bending tests carried out on notched specimens at various testing temperatures. In this study, the trends in…
The study described in this paper was based on some recently published results of research on the behaviour of high-performance concrete in three-point bending tests carried out on notched specimens at various testing temperatures. In this study, the trends in the stress intensity factor and the fracture energy of the concrete with increasing testing temperature were determined. Numerical modelling of three-point bending tests was conducted to examine the formation of damage and the related stress fields. The analysis is based on elasticity coupled with Mazars’ damage model for non-local conditions. The numerical model was meshed with both triangular and quadrangular quadratic finite elements. The mesh was refined with triangular elements in the central zone around the vicinity of the notch plane. The model was run for plane stress conditions. The focus of this study was on the analysis of changes in stresses and damage fields with increasing temperature. The numerical modelling clearly showed that the major stress, strain and damage were located in the vicinity of the notch plane. A detailed analysis is presented of the stress components along some nodes located in the notch plane. The results of this study illustrate the complexity of normal and shear stress fields and the consistency of the modelling.