A device for measuring fracture toughness in stone and concrete materials under lateral loading

So far, the fracture toughness of brittle rockfill and concrete materials has been determined under uniaxial loads. However, in practical application- such as in rockfill dams, railway ballast and oil and gas tanks- lateral loads, in addition to the vertical load, play an essential role in determining the fracture toughness in mode I, mode II and composite modes. Therefore, a device for measuring fracture toughness in stone and concrete materials was designed and built considering lateral load. This device enables the determination of fracture toughness values in mode I (tensile), mode II (shear) and composite mode under confined loading condition. Additionally, it can test samples ranging from ۴.۵ to ۱۱ cm in size. This device, with its various technical features, has been patented and approved by the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fracture toughness ، Rockfill material ، Concrete ، Lateral load