Fracture Analysis of Cube- and Cylinder-shaped WST Specimens Made of Cementitious Composites with Various Characteristic Length

摘要

The paper is focused on finding reasonable proportions for both cube-shaped and cylinder-shaped silicate-based composite specimens subjected to wedge-splitting tests. The analysis is conducted using finite element method code with an implemented cohesive crack model. The aspect of the material's brittleness, related to the heterogeneity of the material and described by what is termed as the characteristic length of quasi-brittle material, is accented. The results yield some recommendations for the determination of parameters of nonlinear fracture models for cementitious composites by means of wedge splitting tests of laboratory specimens of the two standard shapes.