{"title":"Using SCB specimens to quantify nonlinear fracture characteristics in concrete and rock materials","authors":"Ragip Ince","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110951","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110951","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The normalized stress intensity factors for semi-circular bending (SCB) specimens have only been derived up to now. Therefore, experimental investigations on SCB specimens have been limited in terms of concrete fracture. In this study, the important linear elastic fracture mechanics formulas for SCB specimens are initially derived using the finite element method to evaluate the stable and unstable crack growth states of cracked quasi-brittle structures. Cement-based SCB specimens and beams are produced in two sets (concrete and mortar) and subjected to bending tests. The test results of the aforesaid specimens are compared according to three popular fracture approaches in concrete fracture: the two-parameter model, the size effect model, and the double-K model. It is concluded that there is a strong correlation between the fracture toughness of beams and SCB specimens for each set. Based on this agreement, three series of SCB rock experiments in the literature are subsequently examined using the aforesaid concrete fracture models. The results of this investigation illustrate that nonlinear fracture characteristics of rock and concrete materials can easily be estimated by employing single-sized SCB specimens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110951"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Junquan Lai , Ningning Liao , Caibin Wu , Huiming Sheng , Quan Li , Ziyu Zhou , Liangwei Li
{"title":"A study on fracture mechanism of quartz crystal under impact crushing","authors":"Junquan Lai , Ningning Liao , Caibin Wu , Huiming Sheng , Quan Li , Ziyu Zhou , Liangwei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110945","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110945","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The majority of naturally occurring ores consist of crystalline structures. Understanding the fracture behavior of crystals during ore crushing is critical for comprehending the mechanical properties of ores. This study investigates the fracture behavior of quartz crystals under impact crushing conditions. The findings reveal a strong correlation between the mechanical properties of quartz particles and their fracture behavior. At low specific energy of impact crushing (E<sub>cs</sub>), the fracture mode of quartz grains is predominantly intergranular. With increasing E<sub>cs</sub>, the fracture mode transitions from intergranular to transgranular. During fracture, deformation initiates preferentially in coarse grains, while the proportion of fine grains undergoing deformation increases with E<sub>cs</sub>. The results suggest that grain boundary strength and the proportion of fine grains are critical factors influencing the mechanical properties of ores. The study also finds that when subjected to external forces, variations in deformation capacity among grains result in uneven deformation during fracture. The activation of the {0001} < 11–20 > and {10–10} < 11–20 > slip systems promotes plastic deformation in quartz crystals, whereas activation of the {10–11} < 11–20 > slip system hinders plastic deformation in fine grains. Differences in grain deformation capacity during fracture introduce uncertainty in the fracture behavior and crack propagation of quartz grains, elucidating the mechanisms behind the specific particle size distribution observed post-fracture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110945"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143478607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adhesive bond characterization under mixed-mode I + II loading using the mmb test","authors":"Ainhoa Arrese , Faustino Mujika , Jordi Renart , Carlos Sarrado","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110962","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110962","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents an experimental method to determine mixed mode cohesive law of adhesive joints in mixed mode.</div><div>In the proposed method, based on the Mixed Mode Bending test, the <em>J-</em>integral and crack tip relative displacements are determined based on an equivalent crack length method by processing the global load–displacement curve, without monitoring the crack length, the bending rotations at the loading points and the crack tip relative displacement during the test.</div><div>The precision of the method is validated experimentally comparing the results obtained by the proposed methods with those obtained by the Direct Method, where the fracture toughness is determined based on the rotations of the load introduction points and the crack tip displacement is directly measured.</div><div>Results reveal that the proposed data reduction scheme is suitable to obtain the mixed mode characterization of an adhesive joint monitoring only the load–displacement curve, without any external displacement measurement technique and without any assumption of the form of the cohesive law.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110962"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yao Zhang , Pan Feng , Shaoqi Zhang , Weigang Zhao , Zhiguo Yan , Hehua Zhu , J.Woody Ju
{"title":"Experimental study on the fracture behavior of a novel multi-scale fiber reinforced ultra-high performance concrete with hollow microspheres after high temperatures","authors":"Yao Zhang , Pan Feng , Shaoqi Zhang , Weigang Zhao , Zhiguo Yan , Hehua Zhu , J.Woody Ju","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110979","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110979","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, a novel multi-scale fiber reinforced ultra-high performance concrete (MSFUHPC) reinforced with polyethylene (PE) fibers, steel fibers, and carbon fibers mixed with lightweight aggregates is developed to obtain high strength and high toughness. The fracture behavior of MSFUHPC after exposure to elevated temperatures is critical to understanding the structural behavior of engineering structures in a fire accident. Therefore, the effects of multi-scale fibers, fly ash cenospheres (FAC), and hollow alumina microspheres (HAM) on the fracture properties of MSFUHPC are investigated. Results reveal that multi-scale fibers can significantly enhance the fracture toughness of UHPC by restraining crack propagation. Incorporating hollow microspheres increases the number of microcracks around the main crack, which prolongs the unstable crack propagation stage and improve the deformation capacity, as a result of which the unstable fracture toughness and the total fracture energy can be strengthened. Moreover, the fracture toughness and fracture energy of the specimen gradually decrease as the temperature increases from 25 °C to 600 °C due to the weakened bonding effect of the fibers with the matrix and the deteriorated microsphere-matrix ITZ. After 400 °C, the specimens mixed with FAC can maintain a relatively high ductility index because of the good bonding between FAC and the matrix. After 600 °C, the fracture energy of MSFUHPC decreases by about 82.3 %-92.1 %, mainly thanks to the thermo-damaged bridging capability of the steel and carbon fibers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110979"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143509607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sergio Luis Gonzalez Assias , Hector Guillermo Kotik , Juan Elías Perez Ipiña , Marcelo Paredes
{"title":"Experimental and numerical study of the effect of splits on specimen compliance and Δa results","authors":"Sergio Luis Gonzalez Assias , Hector Guillermo Kotik , Juan Elías Perez Ipiña , Marcelo Paredes","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110970","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110970","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fracture toughness testing of materials with delaminations perpendicular to the main crack (splits) is complex due to unclear effects on specimen compliance. This study examines how split morphology influences compliance and crack extension measurements using the unloading compliance method. Experiments on DH36 and X70 steels, combined with numerical simulations, CT scans, SEM, and confocal microscopy, revealed that splits within the thickness (TL) plane have negligible impact on compliance. However, deviations from the TL plane significantly increase compliance, leading to crack growth in <em>J-R</em> curves. These findings contradict existing compliance hypotheses for split specimens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110970"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A comparison between FEM predictions and DIC results of crack tip displacement field in AA2024-T3 CT specimens","authors":"E.R. Sérgio , G.L. Gómez Gonzáles , J.M. Vasco-Olmo , F.V. Antunes , P. Prates , F.A. Díaz , D.M. Neto","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the current paper, fatigue crack growth is modelled using a node-release strategy based on crack tip plastic deformation. The accuracy of material elastic–plastic modeling is crucial for the quality of the numerical predictions. Stress–strain loops obtained in low cycle fatigue (LCF) were used to fit material constants for 2024-T3 aluminium alloy, which is the procedure usually followed. The material model was validated with Digital Image Correlation (DIC), with results obtained at different distances behind the crack tip in a thin CT specimen. Significant differences were found between FEM predictions and experimental results for plastic COD, which were attributed to an inadequate elastic–plastic model. In fact, the LCF tests always have small strain ranges, much smaller than the observed at the crack tip. The change of the isotropic hardening law from Swift to Voce improved the predicted plastic COD values. The final conclusion is that the fitting of the material parameters using LCF results must be validated with DIC-FEM comparisons for the case of thin specimens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110964"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143464920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuezong Yang , Zhushan Shao , Kui Wu , Nannan Zhao , Yujie Wang
{"title":"Machine learning approaches for predicting rock mode I fracture toughness: Insights from ISRM suggested CCNBD and SCB tests","authors":"Yuezong Yang , Zhushan Shao , Kui Wu , Nannan Zhao , Yujie Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110949","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110949","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mode I fracture represents a prevalent failure mechanism in rocks, attributed to the typically significantly lower tensile strength compared to their shear strength. The cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc (CCNBD) and semi-circular bend (SCB) tests are two techniques recommended by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) for assessing mode I fracture toughness and are commonly employed in laboratory research. The fracture toughness of a rock specimen depends on its geometric dimensions and mechanical properties. Clarifying the geometric size impacts of various types of rocks in mode I fracture toughness testing is both costly and time-consuming. Machine learning offers a predictive approach for determining the fracture toughness of rocks. This investigation leverages six sophisticated machine learning models, encompassing decision regression tree (DRT), random regression forest (RRF), generalized regression neural network (GRNN), gaussian process regression (GPR), support vector machine (SVM) and generalized additive model (GAM), to forecast the mode I fracture toughness within the CCNBD and SCB testing paradigms. The variance in input variables between the two tests is attributed to the distinct geometrical attributes of the CCNBD and SCB specimens. Tensile strength, specimen radius, specimen thickness and three dimensionless parameters related to the initial and final cracked chevron notch lengths and specimen thickness are the input variables for CCNBD tests. Tensile strength, specimen radius, specimen thickness, notch length and the span of the two loading cylindrical rollers are input variables for SCB tests. Five evaluation indicators of machine learning models, i.e., mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error, mean square error, root mean square error and coefficient of determination, are adopted to comprehensively evaluate the predictive performance of these models. According to the evaluative metrics, the DRT and GPR models emerge as the most effective for CCNBD and SCB tests, respectively. The significance of input variables for the prediction of mode I fracture toughness was delineated employing Shapley additive explanations. The findings underscore the paramount influence of tensile strength on mode I fracture toughness within both CCNBD and SCB testing methodologies. Considering the influences of sample value differences in CCNBD and SCB datasets and taking mean absolute percentage error and coefficient of determination as the evaluation indicators, the machine learning models are more suitable in predicting mode I fracture toughness in CCNBD tests than that in SCB tests. This study delivers valuable insights for the prediction of mode I fracture toughness in rocks via machine learning techniques.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110949"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143478608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experimental study on mesoscopic fracture process and weakening mechanism of water on rockbursts","authors":"Jie Sun , Kai Ling , Shudong Zhang , Dongqiao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110950","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110950","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rockbursts induced by quasidynamic loads in deeply buried tunnels are highly susceptible to water and pose a critical engineering challenge. This study designs sandstone specimens with circular openings with various saturation levels to investigate the effects of water on rockbursts. Subsequently, rockbursts are triggered by quasi-dynamic loads in the true-triaxial loading state. The rockburst fracture process under different saturation levels and the fracture mode of the sidewall of the circular opening are analyzed using a microporous photography system and an acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system. The results indicate that water has a vital effect on the rockburst behavior of sandstone. Water had a dual effect on the fracture process of the sidewall during rockbursts, revealing a promoting effect on the tensile fracture before rockburst at lower saturation levels; however, a driving effect for shear fractures was observed when the saturation level exceeded 50%. The dual mechanisms of the fluid wedge and lubrication effects are considered critical factors in transforming the sidewall fracture mechanism before the rockbursts occur. However, water accelerates the macroscopic damage before the rockburst, but weakens the overall strength of the rockburst. The calculation results based on the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method showed that when the saturation level increased from 0% to 100%, the rockburst intensity decreased from moderate to slight. Finally, two mechanisms are summarized to explain the weakening effect of water on the severity of rockbursts: (i) the weakening effect of water on the ultimate energy storage capacity of sandstone units, leading to a decrease in the dynamic behavior of the initial failure; (ii) the increasing effect of water on plastic deformation enhanced the sustained energy dissipation behavior of sandstone units rather than promoting energy accumulation. This effect led to a decrease in the residual excess energy of sandstone under dynamic loads.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110950"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yilei Yuan , Chaolin Wang , Yu Zhao , Kun Zheng , Mingxuan Shen
{"title":"Mixed-mode I/III fracture properties of high-temperature granite under liquid nitrogen impact using the ENDB method with acoustic emission technique","authors":"Yilei Yuan , Chaolin Wang , Yu Zhao , Kun Zheng , Mingxuan Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110969","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110969","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For hot dry rock (HDR) reservoirs with random cracks, mixed-mode I/III fracture will be involved when liquid nitrogen fracturing is performed to exploit the stored geothermal energy. In this paper, research on mixed-mode I/III fracture properties of high-temperature granite under liquid nitrogen impact using acoustic emission (AE) and three-dimensional scanning techniques. The experimental results indicate that as the pretreatment temperature increases, the damage inside the granite becomes greater, and fracture toughness and fracture work gradually decrease under different loading modes. From 25 °C (untreated) to 600 °C, the mode-Ⅰ fracture toughness and fracture work exhibit the greatest decrease, with reductions of 68.2 % and 67.8 % respectively, showing a stronger thermal sensitivity. The P-wave velocity has a good linear relationship with fracture toughness and fracture work. The energy-based 3D mean strain energy density criterion (3D-MSED) provides a more accurate prediction of the crack resistance of granite under different pretreatment conditions. The classification results of AE dominant frequency based on threshold classification are consistent with the macroscopic fracture mechanism of edge notched disc bend (ENDB) granite. The higher the pretreatment temperature, the greater the discreteness of slope angle (<em>SA</em>), the larger the joint roughness coefficient (<em>JRC</em>) of the fracture surface, and the rougher the fracture surface becomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 110969"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143551785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoping Zhou , Zhiming Jia , Yulin Zou , Zheng Li
{"title":"Numerical investigation of the evolution behaviors of multiple cracks in rocks subjected to tension using field-enriched finite element method","authors":"Xiaoping Zhou , Zhiming Jia , Yulin Zou , Zheng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.110965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The coalescence behaviors of multi-cracks and competitive crack propagation problem are always the challenging issues in the field of fracture mechanics due to its complexities. In this paper, the field-enriched finite element approach coupling with the predictor-and-corrector (PAC) algorithm is first proposed to numerically investigate the interaction mechanisms among multi-cracks containing shielding and amplification effects. Moreover, the coalescence behaviors of multi-cracks as well as competitive crack propagation problem are studied. In a benchmark example, the plate containing two offset cracks is illustrated to validate the precision and applicability of this proposed method. In addition, two examples involving a square plate containing symmetrically distributed and randomly distributed multi-cracks are also examined. The results demonstrate the exceptional performance of the proposed approach in modeling the propagation and coalescence behaviors of complex multi-cracks, as well as capturing the competing growth and interaction among multi-cracks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11576,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Fracture Mechanics","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 110965"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}