Testing of granulated blast furnace slag concrete using fracture mechanics concepts

The development in recent years of the science and application of linear elastic fracture mechanics has provided engineers and metallurgists with a method of designing against fracture in structural components in a more quantitative way than could be achieved using traditional toughness testing techniques. The inclusion of fracture toughness testing in B.S.I, and A.S.T.M. documents clearly demonstrates that fracture toughness values will appear in many future material quality specifications. Accordingly, this thesis examines the macromechanism of fracture in granulated blast furnace slag concrete.