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Related Concept Videos

Tensile Strength Considerations of Concrete01:16

Tensile Strength Considerations of Concrete

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Considering the tensile strength of concrete involves recognizing that the theoretical strength of cement paste can be up to a thousand times higher than what is observed in practical applications. This significant discrepancy is largely attributed to the presence of microscopic cracks within the concrete. These cracks tend to amplify stress at their tips when a load is applied, a phenomenon explained by Griffith's theory of brittle fracture.
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Microcracking in Concrete01:20

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Microcracking in concrete refers to the tiny cracks that can form within the material even before any external load is applied. These microcracks typically occur at the interface between the coarse aggregate and the hydrated cement paste, often as a result of differential volume changes prompted by variations in stress-strain behavior, as well as thermal and moisture movement. Initially, these microcracks remain stable and do not grow substantially until the concrete is stressed to about 30...
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Brittle materials, including glass, cast iron, and stone, exhibit unique characteristics. They fracture without considerable change in their elongation rate, indicating that their breaking and ultimate strength are equivalent. Such materials also show lower strain levels at the point of rupture. The failure in brittle materials predominantly results from normal stresses, as evidenced by the rupture created along a surface perpendicular to the applied load. These materials do not display...
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Fatigue

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Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...
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Types of Non-structural Cracks in Concrete01:28

Types of Non-structural Cracks in Concrete

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Non-structural cracks are primarily of three types: plastic, early-age thermal, and drying shrinkage cracks. Plastic cracks are further classified into plastic shrinkage cracks and plastic settlement cracks.
Plastic shrinkage cracks typically form within hours after the concrete is poured. The concrete's surface dries faster than the bottom, creating tensile stress that the still-plastic concrete cannot withstand, leading to diagonal or randomly patterned cracks on the concrete surface.
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Behavior of Concrete Under Compressive Load01:23

Behavior of Concrete Under Compressive Load

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Concrete exhibits specific behaviors under different compressive loads. Understanding this is crucial for understanding its structural integrity. When concrete undergoes uniaxial compression, it tends to develop cracks that run parallel to the direction of the force. These parallel cracks stem from localized tensile stresses that occur perpendicular to the compression direction. Additionally, angled cracks may appear due to the formation of shear planes.
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Full-field Strain Measurements for Microstructurally Small Fatigue Crack Propagation Using Digital Image Correlation Method
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Tensile cracks can shatter classical speed limits.

Meng Wang1, Songlin Shi1, Jay Fineberg1

  • 1Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 27, 2023
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers discovered supershear cracks in brittle materials that travel faster than shear wave speeds, challenging classical fracture mechanics. This finding reveals a new mode of material failure at critical strains.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Solid Mechanics
  • Physics

Background:

  • Brittle materials fracture via rapid crack propagation.
  • Classical fracture mechanics posits tensile cracks move slower than Rayleigh wave speed.
  • Elastic energy dissipation occurs at crack tips in classical models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally demonstrate the existence of supershear tensile cracks.
  • To investigate crack dynamics exceeding shear wave speeds.
  • To explore the fundamental principles governing this nonclassical fracture mode.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing brittle neo-Hookean materials for experiments.
  • Observing and measuring crack propagation speeds.
  • Analyzing crack dynamics under critical applied strains.

Main Results:

  • Experimental evidence confirms supershear tensile cracks.
  • Observed cracks exceeding shear wave speeds ([Formula: see text]).
  • Supershear cracks accelerate smoothly, potentially approaching dilatation wave speeds.

Conclusions:

  • Supershear fracture represents a fundamental shift from classical crack dynamics.
  • This nonclassical fracture mode is initiated at critical applied strains.
  • The findings challenge existing models of brittle material failure.