A micro-mechanical model for dynamic tensile strength of concrete-like materials

Dynamic splitting experiments on cement mortar specimens were performed to experimentally investigate the crack initiation and propagation under various loading rates. And a micro-mechanical model was developed to deeply analyze this problem. The results demonstrate that the micro-crack inertia is one of the mechanisms responsible for the increase of dynamic tensile strength with strain rate which can be observed in the dynamic tensile experiments on concrete-like materials.