Design Of Concrete Fracture Experiments

The analysis and design of structures in the U.S made from concrete follow codes that rely mainly on strength failure criteria along with additional parameters to account for mechanisms of failure not explicitly recognized in these methods. All materials contain flaws that contribute to the overall performance of the various geometries and sizes of the components used to build structures. Additionally, concrete mixture designs have become more advanced with the use of strengthening methods such as fiber reinforcement, which contribute to the complexity of the failure characterization. The risk in the current design practice for concrete is that flaws inherent in the material can grow under loading to unacceptable lengths. It is therefore imperative that steps be taken to advance the current understanding and design practices associated with concrete in order to reliably account for the possible failure mechanisms that may occur. With this in mind, CE401/501, Fracture Mechanics of Concrete Structures, provides seniors and first year graduate students with the history and evolution of fracture theories and design practices along with a detailed study of the current theories used to understand the fracture mechanics of concrete. As part of a programmatic change that is under consideration in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Clarkson University (CU), the lecture portion of the course has been supplemented by an in depth experimental component that requires students to design and perform concrete fracture tests following recommendations provided by the ACI Committee 446. The programmatic curriculum change that is being considered is in response to the ASCE Policy 465 and ABET assessments. These organizations recognize the fact that changes need to be made in current programs in order to better prepare the new breed of engineer and guarantee the advancement of Civil Engineering.