Failure of refractory masonry material under monotonic and cyclic loading: crack propagation analysis

TL;DR

This study compares the failure mechanisms of refractory masonry under cyclic and monotonic loads, revealing differences in fracture energy, brittleness, and crack behavior through experimental analysis.

Contribution

It provides new insights into crack propagation and energy dissipation in refractory masonry under different loading conditions, aiding better failure prediction.

Findings

Higher fracture energy under cyclic loading

Lower brittleness at failure with cyclic loads

Different microstructural characteristics of fracture zones

Abstract

Refractory masonry (refractories) is exposed to in-service loads of different types. To rationalise the masonry design and failure analysis, differences of failure under cyclic and monotonic loading were studied. For samples of silica refractories tested in wedge splitting set-up global failure parameters and crack trajectories were assessed. Under cyclic loading, higher fracture energy and lower brittleness at failure were seen. Cracks of different modes had similar non-linearity and branching. However, the size and microstructural characteristics of the fracture process zone was different. In addition, higher energy dissipation during cyclic loading is promoted by repetitive friction events along the crack trajectory.