FRACTURE-TOUGHNESS OF MORTAR-AGGREGATE INTERFACE IN HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE

Structural performance of concrete is influenced by the properties of interfaces between tile constituent elements, as well as those of comp onent materials. Recently, in view of the efforts for the development of high-performance concrete, there has been a renewed interest in the study of interface behavior iii concrete. In studying rite deformatio n and failure mechanisms of high-strength concrete, characterization o f interfacial fracture toughness as a property of the mortar-aggregate interface is essential. In this paper, the fracture toughness of sele cted mortar-aggregate interfaces in concrete is assessed and the role of fracture mechanics parameters in the behavior of high-strength conc rete is discussed.