Fracture energy of glass fiber reinforced cement composites: Method of determination: Fid-Bau Portal

Fracture energy of glass fiber reinforced cement composites: Method of determination

Ohigashi, T.

AbstractBased on theoretical consideration, it has been found that the fracture energy is an useful index for the evaluation of fracture toughness of GRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites). The method for determination of the fracture energy was proposed in this paper. Fracture energy was obtained from the work required for the fracture, i.e. the area under the load-displacement curve in a tensile test. Two notches were introduced on both sides of the specimen surface in order to obtain a stable load-displacement curve, which is necessary in determining fracture energy. The determined value did not depend on the depth of the notches if they were appropriately deep. The value, therefore, represented a property of the material, while the impact strength and critical stress intensity factor (KIC), which are widely used as the indices of the fracture energy and fracture toughness, respectively, are not considered to be the material's properties because of the great influence of the notch depth on the indices. This paper also discusses the suitability of the present method and the error factors caused in the measurement.