Fracture of Compressed Brittle Bodies with a Crack.

The fracture of brittle specimens with an initial crack under uniaxial compression is studied experimentally. The effect of the crack orientation on the fracture of the specimens is examined. It is established that the crack nucleates and advances mainly in the loading direction (longitudinal fracture being predominant). The brittle material is modeled taking into account the difference between the compressive and tensile strengths of the material, the accumulation of damage, and the degradation of strength. The results obtained with the model in analyzing the fracture of brittle specimens with an initial crack under uniaxial compression are in satisfactory agreement with experimental data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]