TY - JOUR
T1 - Comprehensive tests and quasi-brittle fracture modeling of light-weight foam concrete with expanded clay aggregates
AU - Lu, Yao
AU - Hu, Xiaozhi
AU - Yang, Xiaofa
AU - Xiao, Yiqiang
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Expanded Clay Foam Concrete (eC-FC) is a light-weight foam concrete with expanded clay aggregates, which is an important class of building materials, yet its tensile strength f(t) and fracture toughness K-IC cannot be easily measured using small test samples due to its highly heterogeneous microstructures. This study presents a simple closed-form model for quasi-brittle fracture of heterogeneous solids confirmed by comprehensive three-point-bend (3-p-b) test results from 168 notched eC-FC specimens with eight group sample designs. One tensile strength ft was determined from individual group or all from the model initially developed for normal concrete, proving both the trans-granular fracture in eC-FC and inter-granular fracture in normal concrete can be modeled by this fracture model. Unidirectional compressive tests of the eC-FC were also performed, and tensile strength f(t) estimated from the compressive strength f(c) is consistent with f(t) from 3-p-b tests. Fracture toughness K-IC was determined from the model using tensile strength f(t) and the average aggregate size G.
AB - Expanded Clay Foam Concrete (eC-FC) is a light-weight foam concrete with expanded clay aggregates, which is an important class of building materials, yet its tensile strength f(t) and fracture toughness K-IC cannot be easily measured using small test samples due to its highly heterogeneous microstructures. This study presents a simple closed-form model for quasi-brittle fracture of heterogeneous solids confirmed by comprehensive three-point-bend (3-p-b) test results from 168 notched eC-FC specimens with eight group sample designs. One tensile strength ft was determined from individual group or all from the model initially developed for normal concrete, proving both the trans-granular fracture in eC-FC and inter-granular fracture in normal concrete can be modeled by this fracture model. Unidirectional compressive tests of the eC-FC were also performed, and tensile strength f(t) estimated from the compressive strength f(c) is consistent with f(t) from 3-p-b tests. Fracture toughness K-IC was determined from the model using tensile strength f(t) and the average aggregate size G.
KW - Expanded clay foam concrete (eC-FC)
KW - Tensile strength
KW - Fracture toughness
KW - Three-point-bend test
KW - Boundary effect model (BEM)
KW - Average aggregate size (G)
KW - NORMAL-DISTRIBUTION PERTINENT
KW - TENSILE-STRENGTH
KW - TOUGHNESS
KW - ENERGY
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091778087&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103822
DO - 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103822
M3 - Article
VL - 115
JO - Cement and Concrete Composites
JF - Cement and Concrete Composites
SN - 0958-9465
M1 - 103822
ER -