Correlation analysis between fracture toughness and tensile strength of cement soil based on notched semi-circle bend specimen

To reveal the influence of cement proportion (P) and curing age (T) on the anti-cracking ability of cement soil, notched semi-circular bending specimens were used in this study. Tensile strength tests and mode I fracture tests were performed on cement soils with different P and T. The evolutionary characteristics of the tensile strength σt and mode I fracture toughness KIC were obtained. The test results showed that σt and KIC gradually increased with increasing cement proportion P and curing age T, with both exhibiting a logarithmic function relationship. Predictive models for σt and KIC, which were developed using regression analysis, can be used to evaluate the anti-cracking ability of cement soils. Therefore, the correlation between KIC and σt of cement soils was theoretically analyzed. The variability of the correlation coefficients was discussed in the context of existing research on soil materials, and the differences in the critical dimensions were analyzed based on the correlation coefficients.