Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size

Abstract The diameter and quantity of internal pores in concrete significantly influence its mechanical properties. While existing studies predominantly focus on the influence of pore quantity, this study utilizes pre-fabricated pores made from polystyrene particles (EPS) to investigate the effects...

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Main Authors: Guohui Zhang, Dejin Gu, Yanshuang Gu, Mingyang Zhou, Bo Zhao, Mingming Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05841-0
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author Guohui Zhang
Dejin Gu
Yanshuang Gu
Mingyang Zhou
Bo Zhao
Mingming Wang
author_facet Guohui Zhang
Dejin Gu
Yanshuang Gu
Mingyang Zhou
Bo Zhao
Mingming Wang
author_sort Guohui Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The diameter and quantity of internal pores in concrete significantly influence its mechanical properties. While existing studies predominantly focus on the influence of pore quantity, this study utilizes pre-fabricated pores made from polystyrene particles (EPS) to investigate the effects of different pore diameter and porosity on the fracture mechanical properties of concrete. The results indicate that the incorporation of EPS degrades the fracture mechanical properties of concrete. The initiation load, peak load, initiation fracture toughness, instability fracture toughness, and fracture energy of concrete all decrease with increasing porosity. At constant porosity, the initiation load and initiation fracture toughness of concrete with a hole diameter of 0.3 to 0.6 mm decreased the most, with maximum reductions of 48.98% and 49.30%, respectively. The peak load, instability fracture toughness and fracture energy of concrete with a hole diameter of 3 to 5 mm decreased the most, with maximum reductions of 26.88%,38.46%,24.02%, respectively. In comparison to porosity, pore size has a more significant impact on the initiation fracture toughness of concrete. The influence of porosity on the instability fracture toughness and fracture energy of concrete is greater than that of pore size.
format Article
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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spelling doaj-art-634d67fd9a7447639dac2479ddc8ded72025-08-20T03:03:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111510.1038/s41598-025-05841-0Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore sizeGuohui Zhang0Dejin Gu1Yanshuang Gu2Mingyang Zhou3Bo Zhao4Mingming Wang5Faculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyYunnan Engineering Vocational CollegeFaculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyAbstract The diameter and quantity of internal pores in concrete significantly influence its mechanical properties. While existing studies predominantly focus on the influence of pore quantity, this study utilizes pre-fabricated pores made from polystyrene particles (EPS) to investigate the effects of different pore diameter and porosity on the fracture mechanical properties of concrete. The results indicate that the incorporation of EPS degrades the fracture mechanical properties of concrete. The initiation load, peak load, initiation fracture toughness, instability fracture toughness, and fracture energy of concrete all decrease with increasing porosity. At constant porosity, the initiation load and initiation fracture toughness of concrete with a hole diameter of 0.3 to 0.6 mm decreased the most, with maximum reductions of 48.98% and 49.30%, respectively. The peak load, instability fracture toughness and fracture energy of concrete with a hole diameter of 3 to 5 mm decreased the most, with maximum reductions of 26.88%,38.46%,24.02%, respectively. In comparison to porosity, pore size has a more significant impact on the initiation fracture toughness of concrete. The influence of porosity on the instability fracture toughness and fracture energy of concrete is greater than that of pore size.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05841-0ConcreteEPS particlePorosityPore sizeFracture toughnessFracture energy
spellingShingle Guohui Zhang
Dejin Gu
Yanshuang Gu
Mingyang Zhou
Bo Zhao
Mingming Wang
Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
Scientific Reports
Concrete
EPS particle
Porosity
Pore size
Fracture toughness
Fracture energy
title Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
title_full Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
title_fullStr Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
title_full_unstemmed Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
title_short Concrete double-K fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
title_sort concrete double k fracture toughness and fracture energy influenced by porosity and pore size
topic Concrete
EPS particle
Porosity
Pore size
Fracture toughness
Fracture energy
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05841-0
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