Notch effect on the fracture of several rocks: Application of the Theory of Critical Distances

The paper analyses the fracture behaviour of several rocks, namely a sandstone, a limestone and two marbles, one of them being a Carrara marble. The experimental program comprises in total 216 fracture specimens, tested in 4-point bending conditions and including specimens with notch radii varying from 0.15 mm up to 15 mm. The notch effect is analysed through the evolution of the apparent fracture toughness and the application of the Theory of Critical Distances. The present study aims to generalize a previous study on a granite and a limestone to a broader range of rocks. The point and line methods of the Theory of the Critical Distances successfully explain the notch effect on the fracture specimens. The value of the critical distance of these rocks is of the order of mm. Finally, the results show a correlation between the microstructural features of the rocks, specifically the grain size, and their critical distances.