“…The influence of loading rate on the behavior of quasi-brittle materials and structures has been intensively studied and better understood in recent years [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. It is well known that the resistance, failure mode, crack pattern and crack velocity in concrete are strongly influenced by the loading rate.…”