Fracture of PBX notched specimens: Experimental research and numerical prediction

In this paper the results of an experimental campaign on PBX semi-circular notched specimens subjected to mode-I bending are presented. In the tests different notch lengths were considered while the notch tip geometry was preserved. Besides this, the critical loads experimentally obtained were also evaluated through different criteria, such as the Embedded Cohesive Crack Model or the Theory of Critical Distances, in order to study the best approach to the fracture assessment of notched components made PBX.