Pilot evaluation of C50/60 fracture properties by Brazilian Disc test

Abstract

Along the years it has been so important for civil engineers to have acknowledgement about the durability of the materials in construction, especially about concrete. As it is known, most of the components of a structure are being requested to a mixed mode, which means that they are requested by forces in two different directions. It is very important to know about both stress intensity factors, in order to be able to predict how long the structure will endure until it collapse. This prediction can be done with the study of the Brazilian Disc, a concrete disc with a crack in the middle of it, requested by two symmetrical forces in different angles regarding the crack. The results for the stress intensity factors are calculate with ANSYS software.