Critical stress intensity factor of epoxy mortar

Fracture behavior of epoxy mortar was investigated in Mode I fracture using single edge notched beams with varying notch depth and beam thickness. The beams were loaded in both 3-point and 4-point bending. Influence of polymer content and temperature on the fracture behavior of epoxy mortar was studied using uniform Ottawa 20–30 sand. The polymer content was varied between 10 percent and 18 percent of the total weight of the composite. The temperature was varied between 22°C and 120°C. The flexural strength of the polymer mortar increases with increase in polymer content while the flexural modulus goes through a maximum. The critical stress intensity factor (KIC) was determined by several methods including compliance method (based on crack mouth opening displacement) and finite element analysis. The KIC for epoxy mortar increases with increase in polymer content and epoxy mortar strength but decreases with increase in temperature. The critical stress intensity factor of epoxy mortar is represented in terms of polymer content and polymer strength or stiffness. Numerical tests based on random sampling and stratified sampling procedures were performed to substantiate the experimentally observed fracture toughness values of epoxy mortar.