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In the present work, Finite Fracture Mechanics (FFM) is applied to investigate the brittle fracture behaviour of rounded V-notched structures subjected to mode I loading. According to the criterion, fracture does not propagate continuously, but by finite crack extensions, whose value is determined by the contemporaneous fulfilment of a stress requirement and an energy balance. Consequently, the crack advance becomes a structural parameter. By assuming the apparent generalized stress intensity factor as the governing failure parameter, as expected within brittle structural behaviour, the expression for the apparent generalized fracture toughness as a function of the material properties as well as of the notch opening angle and the notch radius is achieved. FFM predictions are compared with those provided by other theoretical approaches based on a critical distance and with experimental data available in the Literature, showing a good agreement.
KEYWORDS. Rounded V-notches; mode I; brittle fracture; Finite Fracture Mechanics.