PSI - Issue 84

Mohammad Javad Azari Nezhadian et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 1222–1230

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Displacement data show that one specimen attained a slightly higher peak force prior to entering the post-peak regime, while the other had a steeper loss of load-carrying capacity beyond its peak. Local drops in the curves, visible in the CMOD data in particular, reflect the sequential opening/widening of cracks along the tensile face. Averaged left–right curves indicate that, although both replicates expressed a similar deformation pattern, the amplitude of such local drops depended on the position of major cracks with respect to transducer locations, as a function of the inherently localized nature of crack propagation under pure bending.

Fig. 4 Force–displacement responses obtained from the four-point bending tests on segment IV and VII segments.

Fig. 5 Force–CMOD responses obtained from the four-point bending tests on segment IV and VII segments.