Hamid Daghigh - M.Sc. student, Rock Mechanics Division, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
Jalalifar Hossein - Associate Professor, Department of Mining Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
Vahid Daghigh
K Nikbin - Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College of London, London, UK

The dynamic fracture experiments in V-notched rectangular marble specimens were carried out to identify the notch angle effects on fracture toughness and tortuosity of crack growth path. To reach this goal, Charpy impact testing machine was employed in order to evaluate the energy absorbed of notched specimens with the various angles of 30, 60, 90 and 120 degrees. The results revealed that by notch angle 30 to 60 degrees, the fracture toughness showed the least reduction while from 60 to 90 the steepest reduction trend was observed. The fracture surfaces were also examined by eye inspection and high magnifying camera and the fracture morphology was discussed.

Notch angle, Charpy impact, Rock materials, Brittle Fracture