ARMA 13-168

Relationship between grain size and fracture properties of rock

Tarokh, A.
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Fakhimi, A.
Department of Mineral Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USA &
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Copyright 2013 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 47th US Rock Mechanics / Geomechanics Symposium held in San Francisco, CA, USA, 23-26
June 2013.
This paper was selected for presentation at the symposium by an ARMA Technical Program Committee based on a technical and critical review of
the paper by a minimum of two technical reviewers. The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of ARMA, its officers, or
members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of ARMA
is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 200 words; illustrations may not be copied. The
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgement of where and by whom the paper was presented.

ABSTRACT: Development of an inelastic zone ahead of a crack tip known as process zone is a common phenomenon observed in
many quasi-brittle materials. Some experimental and numerical efforts have been conducted to scrutinize the parameters affecting
the size of process zone. This study investigates the role of grain size on the process zone and size effect parameters by conducting
a discrete element simulation of rock fracture. A softening contact bond model is used to study the development of the process
zone around a notch tip in three-point bending tests. The numerical simulation is utilized to obtain nominal tensile strength,
apparent fracture toughness and width of process zone. Bazants size effect law parameters were obtained using the change in
nominal tensile strength with specimen size and it was found that by increasing the grain size, brittleness of the material decreases.
It is also shown that apparent fracture toughness is in general a function of specimen and grain size and it increases with the
increase in grain size .The change in process zone width with specimen size is investigated too. It is illustrated that for a less brittle
material, the impact of grain size on the width of process zone is greater. Based on dimensional analysis, for sufficiently large
specimens, a linear relationship between width of process zone and grain size is suggested.

1. INTRODUCTION
The existence of a localized zone of microcracking
which develops around and ahead of a crack tip is an
important subject in rock fracture studies. This process
zone is known to be responsible for deviations of the
governing equations from those governed by LEFM and
has an important role in prediction of intact rock failure
and safe design of structures. Therefore, many studies
have been conducted both experimentally and
numerically to characterize the dimensions of this
inelastic zone [1-5].
The extent of this damage zone can be influenced by
many factors such as specimen size, loading conditions,
temperature and porosity. Among different factors, the
role of microstructure is yet another important entity
which can play a significant role in controlling the size
of process zone. Despite the efforts on characterizing the
effect of size of inhomogeneities (grain or aggregate
size) on the fracture process zone dimensions in various
quasi-brittle materials, it is still not clear as to whether
the size of process zone depends on maximum grain or

aggregate size, and also that if the size of

inhomogeneities influences width of process zone or
length of process zone or both of them. Zietlow and
Labuz [1] suggested an approximate linear relationship
between the width of process zone and the logarithm of
grain size. Li and Marasteanu [2] evaluated two different
aggregates (granite and limestone aggregates) in an
asphalt mixture at low temperature suggesting that the
grain size has no effect on length but has considerable
effect on the width of process zone. Otsuka and Date [5]
investigated the effect of aggregate size on the fracture
process zone dimensions of concrete. They noticed that
with the increase of maximum aggregate size, the width
of fracture process zone increases whereas the length of
process zone decreases. Others have also stated that
grain size has a strong influence on the size of process
zone [6-9]. On the other hand, Wolinski et al [10]
indicated that there was no influence of aggregate size
on the concrete fracture parameters; the mean value of
the fracture process zone width obtained for different
tested concretes was not dependent on the maximum
aggregate size.

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the

effect of particle size on the fracture properties and
process zone size in quasi-brittle materials. Fracture
toughness, width of process zone, and material
brittleness are studied using a discrete element numerical
simulation. Three point bending tests on notched
specimens are conducted. A softening contact bond
model is used to mimic the damage zone around the
notch tip. Different synthetic materials with different
brittleness numbers are utilized in the numerical
simulations.

normal and shear contact forces are shown with arrows

in Fig. 1.
(a)

Fn (Tension)
C

nb

D
Knp

Kn

2. NUMERICAL MODEL
Numerical modeling has been used extensively as a tool
for solving static and dynamic problems in rock
engineering. The discrete element method is one of the
numerical methods used to compute stresses and
displacements in a volume containing a large number of
interacting particles. It is a powerful technique capable
of solving problems with no limitation on the
deformation of rock.
In this study, the CA2 computer program, which
implements a slightly overlapped circular particles
interaction (SOCPI) model for two-dimensional analysis
of geomaterials, was used to simulate the failure process
in rock [11, 12 & 13]. The rock is modeled as a bonded
particle system [14] in which the rigid circular cylinders
interact through normal and shear springs to simulate
elasticity. In order to withstand tensile and deviatoric
stresses, these rigid circular cylinders are bonded
together at contact points. The micromechanical
constants at a contact point in this model are Kn, Ks
(normal and shear spring constants), nb, sb (normal and
shear bond strengths), and (friction coefficient). The
genesis pressure (0) that is the confining pressure
during the sample preparation, can affect the material
behavior too. In addition, the radius of cylinders is an
important micromechanical parameter. The significance
of these parameters has been discussed in a previous
study [15]. Since quasi-brittle materials such as rock and
concrete usually display tension softening during
fracturing, a softening contact bond feature was
implemented in the numerical model. In this softening
model, the normal bond strength at a contact point is
assumed to reduce linearly after the peak tensile contact
load (Fig. 1a). Therefore, a new microscopic constant,
the slope in the post peak region of the normal forcenormal displacement between two cylinders in contact
(Knp), is introduced in the model. As shown in Fig. 1b,
no modification in the relationship between the shear
force (Fs) and relative shear displacement (us) at a
contact point is considered; shear softening should not
play an important role when mode I fracturing is
dominant. The loading and unloading paths for both

1
Kn

Kn

Un

A
Fn (Compression)
(b)

Fs
sb

Fn

D
Us

Fig.1. Relationships in the softening contact bond model. (a)

Normal force and normal displacement. (b) Shear force and
shear displacement.

After sample preparation, the numerical model was

calibrated to simulate the mechanical behavior of Berea
sandstone. The procedures for sample preparation and
calibration have been well explained elsewhere [15]. The
mechanical properties of this particular sandstone have
been reported as a Youngs modulus (E) of 14 GPa,
Poissons ratio () of 0.32, uniaxial compressive strength
(c) of 55-60 MPa, and nominal tensile strength (N) of
8.6 MPa for an 80240 mm (height span) rock beam
[1]. Also the grain size of this rock ranges from 0.1 to
0.8 mm. After calibration of the numerical model,
uniaxial compressive (4080 mm sample) and three
point bending tests (80240 mm beam) were performed
to verify the accuracy of the numerical model. The
following mechanical properties were obtained: E=13.3
GPa, =0.19, c=60.5 MPa, and N=8.7 MPa that are in
close agreement with the mechanical properties of Berea

sandstone. The micromechanical properties that were

obtained through sample calibration are reported in
Table 1. The circular particles or disks radii (R) were
assumed to have a uniform random distribution with a
range of 0.27 to 0.33 mm with an average radius of
Rave=0.3 mm. In order to study the effect of particle size
on fracture parameters, two other particle radii of 0.6
(with a radius range of 0.54 to 0.66 mm) and 1.2 mm
(with a radius range of 1.08 to 1.32 mm) were used. To
obtain relatively similar macro-properties for the three
synthetic materials with three different grain sizes, the
normal and shear bond strengths for materials with
larger grain sizes need to be increased in proportion to
the average particle size, but the normal and shear spring
constants do not need any modification. The increase in
normal and shear bonds in proportion to the particle radii
causes no change in contact normal strength (n=nb/2R)
and contact shear strength (s=sb /2R). Therefore, the
macro-mechanical properties obtained for different
synthetic materials are expected to be approximately the
same (Table 1).
Table 1. Micro-mechanical and macro-mechanical properties
for the synthetic materials with different particle sizes. The
uniaxial tensile strength of specimens is shown with t in the
Table.

Macromechanical

Micro-mechanical

Properties
Kn (GPa)
Ks (GPa)
Knp (GPa)
nb (N/m)
sb (N/m)

0/Kn
E (GPa)

c (MPa)
t (MPa)

R= 0.3
(mm)
22
5.5
1.83
2800
12300
0.5
0.1
13.3
0.19
60.5
6.1

R= 0.6
(mm)
22
5.5
1.83
5600
24600
0.5
0.1
13.6
0.18
63.6
6.1

R= 1.2
(mm)
22
5.5
1.83
11200
49200
0.5
0.1
13.2
0.18
71.0
6.2

In order to investigate the role of grain size on fracture

parameters, five different beam sizes of 2060, 40120,
80240, 160480 and 320960 mm (generated with
three different particle sizes) were tested under three
point bending test (Fig 2). The first number in each
beam size shows the beam height and the second number
is its span. The applied vertical velocity at the top center
of each beam was 2.510-10 meter per numerical cycle in
order to achieve a quasi-static solution. The ratio of
notch length to beam height was assumed to be constant
for all three-point bending tests (a0/D=0.25). The slope
of the softening line (Knp) was modified to obtain
different quasi-brittle synthetic materials. Five different
synthetic materials ranging from brittle (Kn/Knp=0) to
more ductile (Kn/Knp=100) were used in this analysis.

Other micromechanical constants were left unchanged

for each particle size.
P

a0
L

Fig.2. Three-point bending test.

3. NUMERICAL TEST RESULTS

3.1. Load-displacement curves
Typical load-displacement curves for numerical beam
specimens are shown in Fig 3. It could be observed from
this figure that as Kn/Knp increases, the material shows
greater inelastic response in the pre-peak region that
indicates less brittleness of the material.
(a)

(b)

Fig.3. Load-displacement curves for numerical specimens

with Kn/Knp=0, 10, 20, 50, 100, a0/D=0.25 and R=0.3 mm.
(a) 2060 mm specimen, (b) 80240 mm specimen.

3.2. Apparent fracture toughness

The apparent fracture toughness was calculated using the
following equation:

K ICA N D g (

a0
)
D

a longer crack than the original notch length to

compensate for the induced additional compliance due to
existence of fracture process zone [22].

(a)
(1)

in which N is the nominal tensile strength, D is

specimen depth and g(a0/D) is a function of the ratio of
initial notch length to beam depth. The expression for
g(a0/D) has been reported by Srawley [16]:

g ( )

[1.99 (1 )(2.15 3.93 2.7 2 )]

(1 2 )(1 )1.5

(2)

The nominal tensile strength (N) of a beam in a threepoint bending test is easily calculated using the
following equation:

3Pmax l
2bD 2

(3)

(b)

in which Pmax is the peak load, l is the specimen span, b

is the specimen thickness and D is the specimen height
or depth.
Variation of apparent fracture toughness with specimen
size for different particles sizes are shown in Fig. 4.
Notice that for a more brittle material (Kn/Knp=0 and 10),
the apparent fracture toughness shows less change with
the change in specimen size whereas for less brittle
materials (Kn/Knp=20, 50 and 100), apparent fracture
toughness increases significantly with the increase in
specimen size. This is observed for all three materials
with different particle sizes. Therefore, depending on the
type of material, the apparent fracture toughness could
be a size dependent or a size independent parameter.
This finding has been observed experimentally in the
work of Palmer and Baker [17]. On one extreme, Peng
& Johnson [18] testing Chelmsford granite and Schmidt
&Lutz [19] conducting experiments on Westerly granite
have claimed that the fracture toughness is a material
property independent of specimen size. On the other
hand, the works of Schmidt [20] on Indiana limestone
and Makhnenko et al [21] on medium grained black
gabbro suggest size dependency of fracture toughness.
To reduce the above discrepancy regarding the fracture
toughness of quasi-brittle materials, corrections to the
apparent fracture toughness have been suggested in the
literature to obtain the true fracture toughness of the
material with no or smaller shape and size dependency.
The simplest corrective approach is the equivalent elastic
model. In this approach, the LEFM concept is applied to

(c)

Fig.4. Apparent fracture toughness vs. specimen size for

(a) R=0.3 mm, (b) R=0.6 mm and (c) R=1.2 mm.

3.3. Size effect law parameters

Many engineering structures such as bridges and dams
are made of quasi-brittle materials and it has been
consistently reported that these materials exhibit size
effect at failure. Therefore when it comes to designing
such structures, it is essential to characterize this feature.
In this paper, Bazants size effect law which describes
approximately the size effect phenomena in quasi-brittle
materials such as rock is used [22]:

B t

(4)

D
1
Do

In equation 4, N is the nominal tensile strength, t is the

tensile strength, D is the specimen size and B and Do are
the Bazants size effect law parameters. The results of
the numerical simulations for geometrically similar
specimens were used to obtain B & D0 using a linear
regression method (method II) [22]. In this method, the
apparent fracture toughness is written in the following
form:

K ICA N D g (

ao
)
D

B t
D
1
Do

Dg(

ao
)
D

1
a
B t g( o )2
D
2

1
a
2
B 2 t g ( o ) 2 D0
D

(b)

(5)

By defining x=1/D and y= (1/KICA)2 in Eq. 5, a linear

equation is obtained:

(a)

(c)

(6)

The fracture toughness values and specimen sizes for the

synthetic materials have been used together with
equation 6 to plot Figs. 5. The numerical test data
demonstrate good linear trends except for Kn/Knp=0
(brittle material) and R=0.3 mm that shows greater
scatter. The slopes and y-intercepts in Fig. 5 with t
(uniaxial tensile strength obtained from direct tension
test on 4080 mm sample) reported in Table 2 are used
to find the size effect parameters (B and D0) that are
reported in Table 3. Table 3 includes the results for all
the three particle sizes and a0/D=0.25.

(d)

Table 3. Size effect parameters and fracture toughness for

different R values and a0/D=0.25.
R (mm)

(e)

0.3

0.6

1.2

(f)

Fig. 5. Linear regression analysis to obtain size effect

parameters for beams with a0/D=0.25, and (a) R=0.3 mm,
Kn/Knp=0, 10 and 20, (b) R=0.3 mm, Kn/Knp=50 and 100 (c)
R=0.6 mm, Kn/Knp=0, 10, 20 (d) R=0.6 mm, Kn/Knp=50 and
100 (e) R=1.2 mm, Kn/Knp=0, 10 and 20, (f) R=1.2 mm,
Kn/Knp=50 and 100.

Table 2. Uniaxial tensile strengths of the numerical specimens

with different particle sizes.
Kn/Knp
0
10
20
50
100

R = 0.3 mm
4.2
5.6
7.0
8.6
10.7

t (MPa)
R = 0.6 mm
4.9
6.1
6.5
8.1
9.8

R = 1.2 mm
5.4
6.1
6.8
8.7
10.6

Kn/Knp
0
10
20
50
100
0
10
20
50
100
0
10
20
50
100

B
2.147
1.181
1.289
1.384
1.463
1.046
1.328
1.454
1.610
1.644
1.140
1.128
1.392
1.431
1.400

Method II
D0 (mm)
KIC (MPa.m0.5)
3.8
0.49
11.4
0.63
16.8
1.04
51.2
2.41
81.5
4.00
22.2
0.68
12.7
0.82
27.6
1.40
57.4
2.78
129.7
5.20
40.3
1.10
60.8
1.52
81.9
2.42
176.5
4.67
876.9
12.40

Notice that this linear regression method based on the

apparent fracture toughness has produced no
unacceptable negative D0 values. Moreover, the D0
values calculated based on this method show a general
increase (with the exception of one case with R= 0.6
mm) as the material becomes more ductile (increase in
Kn/Knp value) which should be expected; the brittleness
of the material, i.e. =D/D0 must decrease with increase
in the Kn/Knp value for a constant specimen size. Note
that the data in Table 3 suggest that in general for a
synthetic material with larger particles, a greater D0
value is obtained suggesting a less brittle behavior. It
could also be inferred from Table 3 that by increasing
the particle size, the fracture toughness of very large
specimens (true fracture toughness) increases.
The size effect parameters in Table 3 have been used to
show how the nominal tensile strength changes with the
specimen size or brittleness number (Fig. 6). Note that
the data points for more ductile materials (higher Kn/Knp
values) are close to the line representing the yield
criterion. Conversely, more brittle materials follow more
closely the LEFM theory. It is interesting to note that the
data points for beams with larger particles (larger
symbols) are closer to the region described by the yield
criterion indicating that with the increase in particle size
a more ductile material is obtained. On the other hand,
for smaller particle size, the data points (small symbols)
are closer to the region described by LEFM theory and
therefore a more brittle behavior is expected. From this
finding, it is expected to see a larger process zone in a
material with larger grains. This is in fact the case as will
be shown in the next section.

for less brittle materials, the dependency of process zone

on specimen size is more significant.

Fig.6. Nominal tensile strength vs. brittleness number for

different particle sizes. Larger symbols are used for materials
with greater grain size (a0/D=0.25).

3.4. Fracture process zone width

One important aspect of this study was to investigate the
effect of grain size on the development of fracture
process zone. To measure the size of fracture process
zone, we assumed the process zone in the numerical
model to consist of contact points between circular
particles that are in the post peak regime (e.g. point D in
Fig.1a). These damaged contact points for specimen size
160480 mm and Kn/Knp=50 and R=1.2 mm is shown in
Fig. 7. The damaged contacts are shown in green while
the actual sharp crack, made of completely failed
contacts in the middle of the process zone, has been
shown in red.

Fig.8. Fracture process zone width versus specimen size for

beams made of different particle sizes (a0/D=0.25).

The relationship between process zone width (W) with

specimen size (D) can be captured using Eq.7 proposed
by Fakhimi & Tarokh [23]:

W D
W

D
D0 (1
) (1 )
D0

in which =D/D0 is the brittleness number, W is the

width of process zone for very large specimens. Eq.7
suggests that as the brittleness () of the material
increases, the width of the process zone become less
dependent on the specimen size; for high brittleness
values, the width of process zone can be considered to be
an intrinsic material property. Eq. 7 can be written in
linear form as follows:

1
1 D0 1

W W W D

Fig.7. Fracture process zone surrounding the macroscopic

crack around the middle of 160480 mm beam in a discrete
element simulation (R=1.2 mm & Kn/Knp=50).

Fig. 8 demonstrates the width of process zone versus the

specimen size for synthetic materials with different grain
size. In this Fig, three different colors each indicating a
specific particle size have been used. Fig. 8 illustrates
the increase in the width of fracture process zone with
the specimen size for each synthetic material. Note that,

(7)

(8)

In order to find D0 and W, the variations of 1/W versus

1/D were plotted using the numerical results. Fig 9a
shows the result implemented for R=0.6 mm and
different Kn/Knp values. Similar plots are obtained for the
other particle sizes. The linear trend of the data in Fig. 9a
confirms the appropriateness of Eq. 7. Using the slopes
and y-intercepts of the lines in Fig. 9a together with
Eq.7, the D0 values and the widths of the process zones
for very large specimens (W) can be obtained. This
information is reported in Table 4. In Fig. 9b, the width
of the process zone as a function of specimen height is
shown. The fitting curves (Eq.7) are in close agreement

with the numerical data; Eq. 7 can closely model the

numerical data.
(a)

The D0 values in Table 4 show that as expected, by

increasing the particle diameter, the brittleness () for a
specific beam size reduces; a more ductile behavior
should be expected for a beam made of larger particles.
Furthermore, higher Kn/Knp values for a fixed particle
size causes reduction in , which should be expected.

(b)

Fig.9. (a) The linear relationship between 1/W and 1/D, (b)
fitting lines predicted by Eq.7 for variation of process zone
width with specimen size for R=0.6 mm and a0/D=0.25.

R=0.6 mm

R=0.3 mm

Table 4. The data from linear regression analysis of Eq.7 for

different particle size values (a0/D=0.25).

R=1.2 mm

It is evident that D0 values from linear regression of

apparent fracture toughness and width of process zone
are not identical (compare D0 values in Tables 3 and 4).
Bazant & Planas [22] suggested two linear and a nonlinear regression method in finding the D0 values.
Depending on the method used, different D0 values are
obtained. The use of the width of process zone is yet
another approach in finding D0 values. It is interesting to
note that even though the D0 values in Tables 3 and 4 are
not identical, the plot of W versus D using Eq. 7 can
provide relatively good approximation for the numerical
data points using either set of D0 values [23].

2.8469

y-intercept
(mm-1)
0.1992

0.9523

14.3

5.0

1.8925

0.0179

0.9968

105.7

55.9

1.0949

0.9645

108.4

99.0

Do (mm)

W(mm)

Kn/Knp

Slope

20
50
100

R2

Do (mm)

W(mm)

Kn/Knp

Slope

20

1.8778

0.0101
y-intercept
(mm-1)
0.1

0.9803

18.8

10.0

50

1.6349

0.0143

0.9988

114.3

69.9

100

1.1765

0.9979

309.6

263.2

Do (mm)

W(mm)

0.9947

35.9

18.1

Kn/Knp

Slope

20

1.9772

0.0038
y-intercept
(mm-1)
0.0551

50

1.4093

0.0111

0.9740

127.0

90.1

100

1.2156

0.0018

0.9996

675.3

555.6

Scrutinizing the variation of widths of the process zones

for very large specimens (W) with the radius of
particles for different synthetic materials illustrates an
intriguing result. To elucidate this, values of W
obtained from Table 4 were plotted versus particle size
for different synthetic materials (Fig. 10). Note that Fig.
10 suggests that a linear relationship between W and
the grain size exists for a given value of Kn/Knp; by
increasing the radius of particles in the material, W
increases which results in a more ductile behavior of the
material. In addition, by increasing the Kn/Knp value, the
slopes of fitting lines increase significantly. This implies
that for a more brittle material (less Kn/Knp value), the
radius of the particles has less effect on the fracture
process zone width. More elaboration on the effect of
particle size and Kn/Knp on the width of fracture process
zone and some suggested relationships derived based on
dimensional analysis have been reported in [24].

Fig.10. Variation of width of process zone for very large

specimens (W) vs. particle radius (R) for different synthetic
materials (different Kn/Knp values).

4. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Preceding discussions demonstrate that the width of
process zone increases as the radius of particles
increases and that this increase is a linear function of the
particle size. Experimental data support the results of the
numerical modeling. For example, Otsuka and Date [5]
used X-ray and three-dimensional Acoustic Emission
(AE) techniques to investigate the role of aggregate size
on process zone development in concrete. They
performed tensile tests on different sample sizes. All
specimens had a constant uniaxial compressive strength
of 20 MPa. Apart from some data scatter, the results of
these authors show an approximate linear relationship
between the width of damaged zone and the aggregate
size which supports the numerical simulation finding in
this paper [24]. It is important to realize that in the work
of Otsuka and Date, the same material with a constant
strength was used and only the aggregate sizes were
modified. This is consistent with the assumptions made
in this study as the tensile and compressive strengths of
the synthetic materials used in the numerical modeling
were almost constant (see Tables 1 & 2). The
experimental work of Brooks et al [25], using Nano
indentation testing, on the development of process zone
in two different Marbles with different grain sizes also
indicated an increase in size of fracture process zone as
the grain size increases.
Zietlow and Labuz [1] studied fracture process zone in
different rock types using acoustic emission
measurements. They suggested a linear relation between
normalized process zone width (=W/D) and logarithm
of the normalized average grain size (=dave/D). What
should be noted here from the work of Zietlow and
Labuz [1], is that their proposed equation was based on
the test results on four different rock types which in
general can have different bonding strengths between the
grains. The interfacial bond between particles has proven
to have a strong influence on the properties of composite
materials like concretes and rocks. Therefore, to study
the effect of grain size or aggregate size on fracture
process zone dimensions, one particular rock or concrete
but with different grain size or aggregate size should be
studied [26].

parameters, it was shown that by increasing the particle

size, the material exhibits a more ductile behavior.
Furthermore, it was shown that by increasing the particle
size, the apparent fracture toughness increases.
Numerical simulation results demonstrated that the
width of process zone is a linear function of the radius of
particles. The discrepancy in the literature regarding the
effect of particle size on the fracture properties of the
quasi-brittle materials appears to have been due to the
conducted experimental tests on materials with different
bonding strength at the contact points of the grains. With
the numerical tests such as the method implemented in
this study, all the relevant parameters in fracture of a
material can be held unchanged while the grain size is
modified. This allows the effect of this single parameter
to be studied in details. The analysis of the numerical
results indicates that the discrete element method with a
softening contact bond model is able to mimic the effect
of particle size on fracture parameters in quasi-brittle
materials and that it can be used as a reliable tool to
study crack initiation and propagation in quasi-brittle
structures under mode I loading situation.

REFERENCES
1.

Zietlow, W.K. and Labuz, J.F. 1998. Measurement of

the intrinsic process zone in rock using acoustic
emission. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Mining Sciences. 35(3), 291-299.

2.

Li, X. and Marasteanu, M. 2010. The fracture process

zone in asphalt mixture at low temperature.
Engineering Fracture Mechanics. 77, 1175-1190.

3.

Mihashi, H. and Nomura, N. 1996. Correlation between

characteristics of fracture process zone and tensionsoftening properties of concrete. Nuclear engineering
and design. 165, 359-379.

4.

Chengyong, W., Peide, L., Rongsheng, H. and Xiutang,

S. 1990. Study of the fracture process zone in rock by
laser speckle interferometry. International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences and
Geomechanics abstracts .27(1), 65-69.

5.

Otsuka, K. and Date, H. 2000. Fracture process zone in

concrete tension specimens. Engineering Fracture
Mechanics. 65,111-131.

6.

Ouchterlony, F. 1982. A review of fracture toughness

testing of rock. Solid Mechanics Archive. 7, 131-211.

7.

Brace, W.F. 1961. Dependence of fracture strength of

rocks on grain size. Proceedings of 4th U.S. Symposium
on Rock Mechanics. Pennsylvania State University, 99103.

8.

Zollinger, D.G., Tang, T. and Yoo, R.H. 1993. Fracture

toughness of concrete at early ages. American Concrete
Institute Materials Journal. 90(5), 463-471.

9.

Bazant, Z.P. and Kazemi, M.T. 1990. Determination of

fracture energy, process zone length and brittleness

5. CONCLUSION
A two-dimensional discrete element model with tension
softening was used to study the effect of particle size on
fracture toughness and fracture process zone
development in rock. It was found that the width of
process zone is in general a function of specimen height
and particle size. As the material becomes more brittle,
this dependency on particle and specimen sizes is
reduced. Using Bazants size effect law and its

number from size effect, with application to rock and

concrete. International Journal of fracture. 44, 111131.
10. Wolinski, S., Hordijk, D.A., Reinhardt, H.W.
Cornelissen, A.W. 1987. Influence of aggregate
on fracture mechanics parameters of concrete.
International Journal of Cement Composites
Lightweight Concrete. 9(2), 95-103.

and
size
The
and

11. Lin, Q., Fakhimi, A., Haggerty, M. and Labuz, J.F.

2009. Initiation of tensile and mixed-mode fracture in
sandstone. International Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Sciences. 46, 489-497.
12. Fakhimi, A. 2004. Application of slightly overlapped
circular particles assembly in numerical simulation of
rocks with high friction angle. Engineering Geology.
74, 129-138.
13. Fakhimi, A. 2009. A hybrid discrete-finite element
model for numerical simulation of geomaterials.
Computers and Geotechnics. 36, 386-395
14. Potyondy, D.O. and Cundall, P.A. 2004. A bondedparticle model for rock. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 41, 1329-1364.
15. Fakhimi, A. and Villegas, T. 2007. Application of
dimensional analysis in calibration of a discrete element
model for rock deformation and fracture. Rock
Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 40(2), 193-211.
16. Srawley, J.E. 1976. Wide range stress intensity factor
expressions for ASTM E399 standard fracture
toughness specimens. International Journal of fracture
mechanics. 12(2), 475-476.
17. Palmer, G.B. and Baker, G. 1995. Specimen size effect
on fracture toughness for a low cement refractory.
Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics. 22, 5161.
18. Peng, S. and Johnson, A.M. 1972. Crack growth and
faulting in cylindrical specimens of Chelmsford granite.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences. 9, 37-86.
19. Schmidt, R.A. and Lutz, T.J. 1979. KIC and JIC of
Westerly Granite-effects of thickness and in-plane
dimensions. Fracture Mechanics Applied to Brittle
Materials, ASTM STP 678, 166-182.
20. Schmidt, R.A. 1796. Fracture toughness testing of
limestone. Experimental Mechanics. 16(5), 161-167.
21. Makhnenko, R.Y., Bunger, A.P. and Detournay, E.
2010. Deviation from linear elastic fracture in nearsurface hydraulic fracturing experiments with rock.
44th U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium and 5th U.S.Canada Rock Mechanics Symposium, Salt Lake City,
Utah.
22. Bazant, Z.P and Planas, J. 1998. Fracture and size
effect in concrete and other quasi-brittle materials. CRC
Press.
23. Fakhimi, A. and Tarokh, A. 2013. Process zone and
size effect in fracture testing of rock. International

Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 60,

95-102.
24. Tarokh, A. and Fakhimi, A. 2013. Effect of grain size
on fracture properties of quasi-brittle materials.
Submitted to Engineering geology.
25. Brooks, Z., Ulm, F. J., and Einstein, H.H. 2012. Role of
microstructure size in fracture process zone
development of marble. 46th U.S. Rock Mechanics/
Geomechanics Symposium, Chicago, Illinois.
26. Tarokh, A. 2012. Discrete element simulation of
fracture process zone in quasi-brittle materials. M.S.
Thesis. New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology.
Socorro, NM, USA.