The pre-existing cracks in the brittle substances seem to be the main cause of their failure under various loading conditions. In this study, a simultaneous analytical, experimental and numerical analysis of crack propagation, cracks coalescence and failure process of brittle materials has been performed. Brazilian disc tests are being carried out to evaluate the cracks propagation paths in rock-like Brazilian disc specimens containing single and double cracks (using rock-like specimens which are specially prepared from Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), fine sands and water in a rock mechanics laboratory). The failure load of the pre-cracked disc specimens are measured showing the decreasing effects of the cracks and their orientation on the final failure load. The same specimens are numerically simulated by a higher order indirect boundary element method known as displacement discontinuity method. These numerical results are compared with the existing analytical and experimental results proving the accuracy and validity of the proposed numerical method. The numerical and experimental results obtained from the tested specimens are in good agreement and demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
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