The mechanical behavior within the processing zone of concrete material can be well described by the crack bridging performance. The material properties related to the crack bridging are cracking strength, tensile strength, and the stress-crack width relationship. In general, the cracking strength is lower than the tensile strength of concrete. Crack propagation is governed by the cracking strength. This paper presents a method to determine the above material parameters from a three-point bending test. In the experiment, a pre-notched beam is used. Corresponding values of load, crack mouth opening displacement, and load point displacement are simultaneously recorded. From experimentally determined load-crack mouth opening displacement curves, the above-mentioned crack bridging parameters are deduced by a numerical procedure. The method can be used to evaluate the influence of coarse aggregate and cementitious matrix strength on the stress-crack width relationship, tensile strength, and fracture energy of concrete.
This paper presents an experimental study of the possibility of transition from multiple macro-cracking to multiple micro-cracking in cementitious composites. Conventional polyvinyl alcohol fiber reinforced cementitious composites normally exhibit macroscopic strain-hardening and multiple cracking after the first cracks appear. However, the individual crack width at the saturated stage is normally 60 to 80 μm. In the current study, the effect of fine aggregate size on the cracking performance, especially the individual crack width in the strain-hardening stage was studied by bending tests. The results show that the individual crack widths can be reduced from 60-80 μm to 10-30 μm by modifying the particle size of the fine aggregates used in the composites.
