Experimental Study of Crack Propagation in Cracked Concrete

Siyao Wang and Shaowei Hu
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Siyao Wang: School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Shaowei Hu: School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: The intersection of cracks has an important role in the key technology of hydraulic fracturing for enhancing the recovery of tight hydrocarbon reservoirs. On the basis of digital image correlation technology, three-point bending tests of concrete beams with an edge crack and a central preset crack were conducted to investigate the propagation of cracks after intersection in concretes. Concrete beams with cracks of different positions, lengths, and approach angles were tested, and results were analyzed. In conclusion, the crack positions, crack lengths, and approach angles significantly influence the crack propagation in naturally cracked concrete. A large distance between the crack tip and central point at the preset transverse crack and crack length indicate a high possibility of the edge crack vertically crossing the preset crack. In particular, the crack restarts from the preset crack tip after intersection when the distance between two cracks is smaller than 30 mm and when the preset crack length is smaller than 40 mm. A large approach angle corresponds to a large carrying capacity of the beam and a high possibility of the crack propagating perpendicularly. An improved criterion of restart cracking after interaction is proposed, and the restart points of all tested beams are predicted and compared with the experimental results. A good agreement is observed, which proves that this criterion is reliable.

Keywords: crack propagation; concrete; preset crack; criterion; interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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