Experimental and numerical study on crack propagation in pre-cracked beam specimens under three-point bending

A simultaneous experimental and numerical study on crack propagation in the pre-cracked beams specimens (concrete-like materials) is carried out using three-point bending flexural test. The crack propagation and coalescence paths of internal cracks in side beam specimens are experimentally studied by inserting double internal cracks. The effects of crack positions on the fracturing path in the bridge areas of the double cracked beam specimens are also studied. It has been observed that the breaking of concrete-like cracked beams specimens occurs mainly by the propagation of wing cracks emanating from the tips of the pre-existing cracks in the numerical and experimental analyses, respectively. The same specimens are numerically simulated by an indirect boundary element method (IBEM) known as displacement discontinuity method (DDM) using higher displacement discontinuity. These numerical results are compared with the existing experimental results. This comparison illustrates the higher accuracy of the results obtained by the indirect boundary element method by using only a small number of elements compared with the discrete element method (PFC2D code).