CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR AND FAILURE OF DIONYSOS MARBLE UNDER DIRECT TENSION (*)
 
S. K. Kourkoulis
(UDC: 620.178.2)
Abstract:
The mechanical behaviour and failure of Dionysos marble under direct tension is explored both experimentally and numerically. Intact cylindrical ―dog-bone‖ specimens and also ―U-notched‖ plates were used in the experimental protocols. The components of the strain field were obtained with the aid of suitably positioned arrays of strain-gauge rosettes. The failure of the material was modelled within the frame of the Flow Theory of Plasticity. The experimental data were then used to validate a numerical model aiming at a thorough full-field study of the strain field in ―U-notched‖ marble plates. Moreover the applicability of a simple and easy-to-use single-parameter criterion (based on the concept of the critical Notch Opening Displacement) for the prediction of fracture of structural elements made of Dionysos marble was assessed. Finally the limitations imposed by the non-isotropic behaviour of marble were explored also.