Splitting tensile test for fibre reinforced concrete

Abstract

The splitting tensile test is a much used method to determine the tensile strength of concrete. The conventional test procedure is known to have a number of limitations related to size effect and boundary conditions. Furthermore, it has been reported to be impossible to determine the tensile strength of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) using the standard splitting tensile test method. The objective of this paper is to present a methodology to obtain a close estimate of the true tensile strength of FRC from an adjusted tensile splitting test procedure. Splitting tests were performed on cylindrical specimens of four FRC mixes. The transversal deformation perpendicular to the load direction was recorded during the tests. The experimental load-deformation curves thus obtained have two peaks, an initial one as a result of the tensile stresses at the centre of the specimen and a second peak due to secondary cracking outside the loading axis. The tensile strength can be calculated from the first peak which represents the elastic limit state for the material. The method is validated through numerical simulation of the splitting tests using a cohesive crack approach. It is concluded that it is possible to obtain a close estimate of the true tensile strength of FRC using the procedure developed in the paper.