Experimental study on fracture properties of cementitious materials

For micro-fiber reinforced strain-hardening cementitious materials, in addition to the basic characteristics and mechanical properties of fiber and interfacial properties between fiber and matrix, mechanical properties of matrix such as strength and crack resistance are essential parameters for material design, too. Therefore, the fracture properties of cement paste and mortar which are two most basal cementitious materials were studied, using three-point bending beams of which strength and depth are varied. Complete load versus crack mouth opening displacement (P-CMOD) curve directly obtained, and double-K fracture parameters K-Ic(ini) and K-Ic(un) were subsequently determined. The initial cracking load P-ini was determined using resistant strain gauges. The results show that an apparent stable crack propagation before unstable failure was observed both in cement paste and in mortar. For cement paste, due to the influence of shrinkage crack, the divergence of the unstable fracture toughness K-Ic(un) is more evident than initial fracture toughness K-Ic(ini).