Study of size effect using digital image correlation

Size effect is an important issue in concrete structures bearing in mind that it can influence many aspects of analysis such as strength, brittleness and structural ductility, fracture toughness and fracture energy, among others. Further this, ever more new methods are being developed to evaluate displacement fields in structures. In this paper an experimental evaluation of the size effect is performed applying Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique to measure displacements on the surface of beams. Three point bending tests were performed on three different size concrete beams with a notch at the midspan. The results allow a better understanding of the size effect and demonstrate the efficiency of Digital Image Correlation to obtain measures of displacements.