Fracture Energy of High-Strength Concrete in Compression

Compression tests are usually carried out in load control. This implies the termination of the test at the peak point of the load-displacement curve, while the fracture under these conditions becomes unstable at the descending branch of the load displacement relation. However, the descending branch is essential for understanding the fracture mechanism of concrete in compression. In this paper a series of tests is reported, carried out for the purpose of studying the fracture mechanical properties of concrete in compression. Including the measurement and study of the descending branch, a new experimental method has been used to investigate the influence of boundary conditions, loading rate, size effects and the influence of the strength on the fracture energy of high-strength concrete over the range 70 MPa to 150 MPa, expressed in nominal values.