Effect of size on biaxial flexural strength for cement-based materials by using a triangular plate method

Abstract

The effect of size on the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of Portland cement mortar was investigated by using the recently proposed triangular plate method (TPM). An experimental program was conceived to study the size effect by keeping a constant water-cement ratio of 0.485, cement-sand ratio of 1:2.75, and using unreinforced triangular mortar plates of five different thicknesses and seven different side lengths. The BFS of the produced specimens was tested, and variations of BFS depending on specimen thickness and side length were determined. The results indicated that increases in triangular plate specimen side length and specimen thickness led to a decrease in the BFS of Portland cement mortar. The effect of specimen length increase on BFS was more significant than on the effect of the specimen thickness. The variations in specimens' thickness indicated a deterministic Type I size effect, while the variations in specimens' length showed an energetic-statistical Type I size effect.