Experimental Study on Fracture Energy of Foam Concrete at Different Notch Depth

Abstract

Foamed concrete is lightweight concrete formulated from a mixture of concrete mortar and established foam. Generally foamed concrete is known for its low engineering properties. Many researchers had conducted studies and more focused on the physical and mechanical properties of foamed concrete without taking into account the behavior on its fracture energy. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effect of notch-to-depth ratio on fracture energy of foam concrete using three point bending testmethod. Beam specimens with V-notch were prepared at a densityof 1400kg/m3 and 1600kg/m3. Three different notch-to-depth ratios which were adopted at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5. Fracture energy was determined using Hillerborg, Bazant and Comitee euro International du Beton (CEB) models. From the experimental results, it was shown that fracture energy decreases asthe notch-to-depth ratio increases.