Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Investigating the fracture behavior of Portland limestone: an experimental study

Marinelli, Aikaterini; Stewart, Matthew

Authors

Matthew Stewart



Abstract

An experimental investigation of the mechanical and fracture characteristics of the ‘Grove Whitbed’ Portland limestone is undertaken with the aim to enhance understanding of the structural behavior of this natural building stone, commonly used in both new and restoration projects in Edinburgh, Scotland. A series of appropriate prismatic specimens, bearing a machined notch at their mid-span and comprising combinations of three different geometries (span/depth ratios) and three different sizes (span lengths) were subjected to three-point bending testing. The effect of specimen shape and size on flexural strength, deflection at mid-span, crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) and fracture energy was studied. Despite the scattering of results which is significant but common in studies of the mechanical behavior of similar geomaterials, trends observed comprise (a) the negative correlation between the flexural strength of Portland limestone test specimens and their span lengths for all three shapes and (b) the positive correlation between fracture energy and specimen size. Conclusions drawn are in good agreement with similar ones for other quasibrittle materials and contribute to the assessment of the fracture behavior of full size structural members that are often beyond the range of possible failure testing.

Citation

Marinelli, A., & Stewart, M. (2018). Investigating the fracture behavior of Portland limestone: an experimental study. Procedia Structural Integrity, 10, 104-111

Journal Article Type Conference Paper
Conference Name 1st Internationl Conference of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials
Conference Location Athens, Greece
Acceptance Date Jul 12, 2018
Publication Date Oct 5, 2018
Deposit Date Oct 3, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Procedia Structural integrity
Print ISSN 2452-3216
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Pages 104-111
Keywords Natural building stones; Portland limestone; Mechanical properties; Size effect; Shape effect; Fracture energy
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1310084

Files

Investigating the fracture behavior of Portland limestone: an experimental study (464 Kb)
PDF

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 1st International Conference of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials







You might also like



Downloadable Citations