Discrete fracture and size effect of aluminosilicate glass under flexural loading: Monte Carlo simulations and experimental validation

Silicate glass possesses a complex surface pattern due to the presence of flaws and defects, resulting in the discrete fracture behavior and mechanical strength depending on the sample size. An experimental-numerical study was conducted to investigate the discrete fracture and size effect of aluminosilicate glass under flexural loading condition. A high-speed camera was utilized in experiments to record the in-time stochastic fracture properties of glass specimens. In the developed numerical method, the potential presence of flaws and defects are represented by the pre-inserted cohesive elements with stochastic strengths properties. Monte Carlo simulations are therefore used to provide a prediction for the fracture patterns and strengths range for glass specimens. A good agreement between experimental observations and modeling results demonstrates that the developed method can not only reproduce the discrete fracture property of aluminosilicate glass, but also describe the size effect under three-point bending loading condition.