Effective fracture toughness of a marble-epoxy two phase composite

Abstract

Fracture behaviour of a two phase composite in which epoxy sand mortar is one phase and marble aggregate is the second phase is investigated. The volume fractions of the phases are varied over a wide range, and the effective fracture toughness of the composite is determined by testing notched beam specimens. An attempt is made to corrrelate the effective fracture toughness with the fracture toughness values of the constituent phases and their volume fractions. Application of the results obtained in the study to a problem in marble tile industry is indicated.