An Experimental test for cracking concrete under controlled conditions

A satisfying description of the microstructure of an heterogeneous material suchas concrete should take into account the presence of cracks. Indeed, theirinevitable presence weakens the porous matrix resistance and constitutes apreferential flow path for fluid, gas and pollutants: material durability is thereforeseriously affected. A proper numerical modeling of concrete subjected to severeloading conditions should take into account these phenomena: the description ofthe behavior of a cracked concrete studied as a multiphase porous media requiresthe definition of an experimental constitutive law relating the typical durabilityindicators (such as permeability/diffusivity/electrical resistivity) to the crackwidth.