On dissipated energy density in compression for concrete

An experimental investigation on drilled cylindrical concrete specimens in compression over a large scale range (1:19) has been carried out to evaluate the variation of some mechanical parameters by varying specimen size. The peculiarity of the present investigation consists in exploring very small specimen dimensions. The experimental results show scale effects on dissipated energy density rather than on uniaxial compressive strength. A theoretical explanation for such a phenomenon, based on fractal hypothesis, is presented and a comparison between experimental and theoretical values is discussed.