Title:
Water Fracture Interaction in Concrete--Part 1: Fracture Properties
Author(s):
Eugene Bruhwiler and Victor E. Saouma
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
92
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
296-303
Keywords:
concretes; dams; fracture properties; hydrostatic pressure; water; Materials Research
DOI:
10.14359/1053
Date:
5/1/1995
Abstract:
The fracture properties of concrete, i.e., fracture toughness and the fracture energy, reduce in the case of water-pressurized cracks when compared to dry cracks. In this paper, results of fracture experiments, wherein a crack is subjected to hydrostatic pressure, are presented. These results indicate that, due to the effect of hydrostatic pressure, the size of the process zone is reduce and the values of fracture toughness and fracture energy also get reduced significantly. Simple functional relationships between the fracture properties and hydrostatic pressure are derived and presented.