A study on fracture energy of notched plain blended cement concrete beams with notch at varying positions

Fracture mechanics is the bridge in understanding the failure behaviour of plain concrete beams are subjected to different loading conditions.Fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) are widely used supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that enhance concrete performance while reducing environmental impact.Hence, the present study investigated the fracture energy of notched plain blended concrete beams with fly ash and GGBS with varying lengths, a/d ratios and varying notch positions.A series of experimental tests, from fresh concrete tests to hardened concrete tests including three-point bending are conducted to evaluate the fracture energy on 3 different sized beams with varying depth as well as notch depth and notch position.The results highlight the influence of geometric variations on fracture behaviour.It is seen that length of the beam, depth of the beam along with the varying notch depth and position of notch contribute to the variation of fracture energy.