Influence of Nano-TiO2 and water to cement ratio on fracture parameters of concrete

The experimental work describes the fracture parameters of concrete using TiO2 Nano powder (NT) (1, 2, 3%) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) (30%). The three-point bending test was conducted on 54 notched beams with a water to cement (w/c) ratio of 0.35 and 0.4. A 50 kN capacity closed-loop servo control machine having crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) control with the rate of opening 0.0005 mm/s was used. The size effect method (SEM) and work of fracture (WFM) were used for all mixes to analyze the fracture properties of concrete. The basic mechanical properties of concrete viz. compressive strength, flexural strength, and tensile strength were studied. The results showed that, the decrease in the w/c ratio from 0.4 to 0.35 in concrete: (a) fracture energy increases, (b) fracture toughness increases, (c) characteristic length decreases, (d) brittleness number decreases, while the increase in the percentage of NT from 1 to 3% in concrete: (a) fracture energy increases, (b) fracture toughness increases, (c) characteristic length decreases, (d) brittleness number increases. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.