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GENERALIZED SIZE EFFECT EQUATION FOR QUASIBRITTLE MATERIALS
Author(s) -
Planas J.,
Guinea G. V.,
Elices M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and structures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1460-2695
pISSN - 8756-758X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-2695.1997.tb00300.x
Subject(s) - softening , materials science , fracture (geology) , fracture mechanics , structural engineering , composite material , mechanics , engineering , physics
— Structures made of quasibrittle materials show a marked decrease in strength as their size increases; this is the well known size effect on strength. This contribution proposes a general formula to predict with great accuracy the size effect of pre‐cracked specimens. Such a formula provides the basis to determine experimentally the fracture parameters of a cohesive crack model from the measurement of the peak load in specimens with an initial crack. The formula is applicable whenever the fracture of the material can be described by a cohesive crack model with initial linear softening, as is generally accepted for concrete. Experimental evidence is presented showing that the formula is reasonably accurate also for rock.