A Quasi Real-Time Approach to Investigating the Damage and Fracture Process in Plain Concrete by X-Ray Tomography

Abstract

In most concrete-related computer tomography (CT) experiments, detailed information on the damage and fracture process is obtained using nonreal-time approaches, with the CT method constantly regarded as a qualitative method. This study develops a quasi real-time method with the use of experimental instruments. The average CT number is used to analyse the damage and fracture process in concrete specimens and the theory that underlies concrete damage and fracture is improved. Various characteristics of the fracture form in different loading cases are investigated at the macro and micro levels. This study provides a convenient and fast method for qualitatively and quantitatively analysing concrete. qin yuAn. PhD, the Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-electric Engineering of Xi'an University (China). His research interests: the mechanical property of concrete and concrete technology. chai Junrui. Professor at the Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-electric Engineering of Xi'an University of Technology (China) and College of Civil and Hydropower Engineering of China Three Gorges University (China). His research interests: the mechanical property of concrete and non-linear seepage problem for dam engineering. ding WeihuA. Associate Professor at the Civil Engineering and Architecture of Xi'an University of Technology (China). His research interests: the CT experiment of concrete material and the problems of engineering geological. dang fAning. Professor at the Civil Engineering and Architecture of Xi'an University of Technology (China). His research interests: the mechanical property of concrete and seepage problem for dam engineering. lei mAn. Master in the Civil Engineering and Architecture of Xi'an University of Technology (China). Her research interests include the CT experiment of concrete material and meso-damage process for concrete material. Xu ZengguAng. Lecturer of the Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-electric Engineering of Xi'an University (China). His research interests: the environmental and non-linear seepage problem for civil engineering.

Characterizations on Fracture Process Zone of Plain Concrete

“…To monitor the development of micro cracks in quasibrittle materials, various measured techniques and means have been employed and can be divided into two catego-ries (Hadjab-Souag, Chabaat, & Thimus, 2007a), the direct techniques and the indirect techniques, respectively. One is direct observation of material fracture and its use is ordinarily accompanied by destruction, such as X-rays technique (Yuan et al, 2015) and scanning electron microscope (Hadjab-Souag, Thimus, & Chabaat, 2007b). The other is based on an attempt to observe the material indirectly and provides non-destructive real-time observation, such as optical surface-displacement measuring tool (Siebert, Schubach, & Splitthof, 2011), acoustic emission technique (Arnautov et al, 2016) and Moiré interferometry (Guo, Kobayashi, & Hawkins, 1993).…”

Air-Void-Affected Zone in Concrete Beam Under Four-Point Bending Fracture

“…It is made of cement, water, sand, and coarse aggregates, and therefore, it usually contains natural defects such as micro-cracks, weak interfaces, and air voids (Garbacz et al 2017;Qin et al 2016;Ren et al 2015;Xie et al 2015). Defects have complicated effects.…”